Conference Committee
Dr. Steve Dowdy, UCSD School of Medicine, USA
(sdowdy@ucsd.edu)
Dr. Laura Sepp-Lorenzino, RNA Therapeutics, Merck & Co, Inc., USA
(laura_sepplorenzino@merck.com)
Dr. Gilles Divita, Université Montpellier, France
(gilles.divita@crbm.cnrs.fr)
Dr. Marino Zerial, Max Planck Institute, Dresden, Germany
(zerial@mpi-cbg.de)

Synopsis
Oligonucleotide technologies, such as siRNA, tap into endogenous, highly conserved and specific catalytic mechanisms to efficiently regulate gene expression. As such, they have the potential to enable the development of novel therapeutic options for disease targets previously considered un-druggable by conventional small molecule and biologics means. However, despite the promise, clinical development has been hindered by the challenges encountered by identifying and developing safe and efficacious delivery formulations.

Since its discovery in 1998, RNA silencing has attracted much attention, with over 50,000 peer-reviewed publications, multiple national and international conferences, and significant investment in the biotech and large pharma with the goal of developing new siRNA-based therapies. Despite the interest and investment this has proven to be more difficult that first envisioned. It is widely recognized that there are gaps in our basic understanding on how to best harness this technology for therapeutic use.

Purpose
The ECI Oligonucleotide Delivery conference will provide a forum for increasing our mechanistic understanding of oligonucleotide delivery biological processes, strategies for rational chemical design of therapeutic oligonucleotides and delivery vehicles, formulation strategies, bioengineering and process development solutions to scale-up and manufacturing, and highlight programs in clinical development.

The conference will bring together basic research biologists and pharmacologists, chemists, biophysicists, and engineers working in the field of antisense, RNA interference and microRNA, and nanotechnology.

Outline The session topics are:

• Delivery Strategies #1 - Lipid Nanoparticles and Polymer System
• Delivery Strategies #2 - siRNA Conjugates
• Delivery Strategies #3 - Oligonucleotide Chemistry and Formulation Approaches
• Delivery Strategies #4 - Targeted Delivery
• Biology of Oligonucleotide Delivery
• Plenary Talks
• Poster Sessions