2-5A Antisense for Degradation of SARS Coronavirus RNA

描述(申请人提供)：严重急性呼吸系统综合症(SARS)是一种新发现的疾病，已在亚洲、北美和欧洲迅速传播。SARS已被发现是一种高度传染性的疾病，具有高死亡率、相当大的职业危害，并且没有特定的治疗方法。7月5日，世界卫生组织(WHO)终于宣布，SARS已在全球范围内得到控制。然而，SARS似乎很可能会卷土重来。因此，开发治疗SARS感染的有效药物势在必行。里奇韦生物系统公司正在利用其专有的2-5A反义技术开发针对癌症和传染病的新药。2-5A反义利用一种普遍存在的细胞核糖核酸酶L(核糖核酸酶L)，该酶可通过与2-5A结合而激活。通过将2-5A连接到反义，核糖核酸酶L被定向到一个特定的核糖核酸分子，在这种情况下是与SARS核糖核酸。反义2-5A的效率是缺少2-5A的相应反义的数倍，并且避免了与RNAi相关的不良非特异性效应。我们建议开发一种有效的、有市场价值的2-5A反义药物来治疗SARS感染。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a newly recognized illness that has rapidly spread throughout Asia, North America and Europe. SARS has been found to be a highly infectious disease with high mortality, considerable occupational hazard, and no specific therapy. On July 5, the World Health Organization (WHO) finally declared that SARS has been contained around the world. However, it seems likely that SARS will return. Therefore, the development of effective drugs to treat SARS infection is imperative. Ridgeway Biosystems, Inc. is developing novel drugs for targeting cancer and infectious diseases using its proprietary 2-5A antisense technology. 2-5A antisense exploits a ubiquitous cellular ribonuclease L (RNase L), which is activated by binding to 2-5A. By linking 2-5A to antisense, RNase L is directed to a specific RNA molecule, in this case to SARS RNA. The efficiency of 2-5A antisense is many times superior to corresponding antisense lacking 2-5A and it avoids adverse non-specific effects associated with RNAi. We propose to develop an effective and marketable 2-5A antisense drug for the treatment of SARS infection.