Nobel Prize Technology RNA Interference: A Decade of Hot Spots

Editor's note: Oligonucleotides (Oligonucleotides) has undergone many ups and downs and has developed rapidly in recent years
.

This article briefly analyzes the basic research in this field, the layout of technology patents and the status of financing transactions, and finds that RNA interference (RNAi) has been a hot spot in the field of oligonucleotides in basic research for the past ten years

1.
Three sub-fields of oligonucleotides: RNAi, antisense oligonucleotides and other types of oligonucleotides

1.
Three sub-fields of oligonucleotides: RNAi, antisense oligonucleotides and other types of oligonucleotides

Oligonucleotides can be divided into RNAi, antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) and other oligonucleotide types such as RNA aptamers (Aptamer) according to their molecular types
.

Among them, RNAi was discovered in eukaryotes by Professor Andrew Fire of Stanford University School of Medicine and Professor Craig Mello of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1988, proving that double-stranded RNA can Efficiently and specifically block the expression of related genes, and this phenomenon is called RNA interference (RNAi)

2.
RNAi has the highest proportion of academic literature in basic research in the past ten years, showing continued popularity

2.
RNAi has the highest proportion of academic literature in basic research in the past ten years, showing continued popularity

In the oligonucleotide subfield, we found that RNAi-related fields have gradually become a focus of basic research after 2001
.

In the past ten years, the number of relevant documents in the field of RNAi has maintained a proportion of more than 80% in the field of oligonucleotides, showing that it is the largest research hotspot in the field of oligonucleotides

3.
The top ten entities for RNAi technology patent applications are mainly large and high-value companies

3.
The top ten entities for RNAi technology patent applications are mainly large and high-value companies

Basic research on RNAi is in full swing, what is the trend of technology layout? We compared RNAi with the overall field of oligonucleotides, ASO, and other oligonucleotide fields in the top ten entities for patent applications in order to discover the technical layout trend
.

After comparison, it is found that, unlike the overall field of oligonucleotides or other sub-fields, 5 of the top 10 entities in the RNAi patent layout are high-value companies, which shows that large companies have a strong presence in this field

Note: A bubble represents a pharmaceutical company or research institution; a high-market value company refers to a market value of more than US$10 billion, a medium-value company refers to a market value of US$2-10 billion, and a low-market value company refers to a market value of less than US$2 billion; research institutions include universities, institutions, or Individual researcher
.

There are five research institutes in other oligodeoxynucleotide fields that overlap because of the similar number of patents

Among the top 10 entities for patent layout in the RNAi field, the number of patent applications from a high-market value company far exceeds that of other entities, and the number of patent applications from other entities is similar
.

The company far surpassing other organizations is Sirna Therapeutics (hereinafter referred to as "Sirna")

4.
The concentration of RNAi head patents is low, and emerging companies still have opportunities

4.
The concentration of RNAi head patents is low, and emerging companies still have opportunities

Although there are many large companies in the RNAi field, companies with high market value have not formed a strong head advantage
.

After analysis, it is found that the patent concentration in the RNAi field is no different from the two popular new therapies (gene drugs, new antibodies), and is far lower than the ASO field

According to incomplete statistics from public data, six companies in the RNAi field have received financing this year, and one company has two rounds of financing
.

The financing round is mainly concentrated in the middle and late stages, but there are also two cutting-edge companies, Xing Yao Kunze and Atalanta Therapeutics, which have obtained early financing by virtue of their differentiated advantages

In summary, RNAi has been a hot spot in the field of oligonucleotides in the field of basic research in the past ten years.
Although there are many large companies in the field of technology, the concentration of the industry is not high, and emerging companies still have the opportunity to differentiate themselves in this field.
The advantages stand out
.
Looking forward to the future, I hope that there will be more progress in the RNAi field to benefit a wider group of patients
.

Note: The original text has been deleted

Reference materials:

Reference materials:

[1]Roberts, TC, Langer, R.
& Wood, MJA Advances in oligonucleotide drug delivery.
Nat Rev Drug Discov 19, 673–694(2020).

[1]Roberts, TC, Langer, R.
& Wood, MJA Advances in oligonucleotide drug delivery.
Nat Rev Drug Discov 19, 673–694(2020).

[2] Press releases of various companies

[2] Press releases of various companies