Worcester-based RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp. has licensed exclusive worldwide rights to University of Massachusetts Medical School technology for the oral delivery of RNAi-based drugs.
The technology was developed by Dr. Michael Czech and Dr. Gary Ostroff, both of whom are professors of molecular medicine at UMass. Czech is chairman of the school’s molecular medicine department and an RXi co-founder. Ostroff is an RXi “collaborator.”
The company said oral delivery of RNAi-based drugs “could open up significant market opportunities for RXi.”
RNAi, which was pioneered by RXi founder, UMass professor and Nobel Prize winner Craig Mello, intends to treat diseases by interfering with the genes suspected of causing those diseases.
Financial terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.
