Silence Therapeutics granted two US patents

Shares in biotechnology firm Silence Therapeutics took a hit on Monday despite the company revealing that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted its two new patents.

The patents, which are for both its interfering RNA molecules and lipid complexes used in drug delivery, will extend Silence's intellectual property in these areas of research.

Dr. Klaus Giese, Chief Scientific Officer of Silence, said: "These notifications from the USPTO further strengthens Silence's IP position in the arena of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics and builds upon the already strong proprietary technology Silence offers its partners. The broad range of RNAi therapeutics in terms of their possible length of base pairs again distinguishes Silence from competitors which provide coverage for only very few lengths, if any.

"We welcome the decision of the USPTO on drug delivery as an appreciation of Silence's contribution. With this patent, Silence is becoming an even more attractive partner for companies interested in the delivery of a variety of classes of compounds with siRNA and miRNA being only two of them."

The share price was down 6.25% to 3.15p by 13:18.

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