Collaboration with Genomics England

Silence Therapeutics announces collaboration with Genomics England to identify novel target genes associated with human disease

28 May 2019

LONDON, Silence Therapeutics, PLC (LON: SLN) ("Silence" or "the Company") a leader in the discovery, development and delivery of novel RNA therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases, today announces that it has entered into a collaboration with Genomics England Limited ("Genomics England") for the investigation of novel targets involved in human disease.

Genomics England has generated a unique database of over 100,000 human genomes, for which whole genome sequencing data has been linked with clinical data. This database is a powerful resource for Silence, given its ability to specifically silence disease-associated genes.

Under the terms of the agreement, Silence has been approved for access to a subset of Genomics England's dataset as the Company plans to focus its research on rare disease and cardiometabolic cohorts. Silence will now proceed to mine data with the objective of identifying novel disease-modifying target genes best suited to its proprietary platform technology, as well as optimising patient stratification and UK recruitment in the development of its RNAi product candidates.

Dr. David Horn Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of Silence Therapeutics, commented:"We are pleased to collaborate with Genomics England both to identify novel target genes with validation in large human cohorts and to aid patient selection for our planned clinical trials. We look forward to continuing to advance our drug development efforts and to be able to better serve patients and their caregivers. This key collaboration will help us increase innovation in our target gene choices and will also be attractive to potential partners as we explore a variety of business development opportunities."

Joanne Hackett, Chief Commercial Officer of Genomics England, commented:

"Our collaboration with Silence Therapeutics is a great example of the utility of the Genomics England platform. The Discovery Forum was established to enable innovative research that will help improve patient outcomes for NHS patients, and patients around the world. We are proud to be working with Silence Therapeutics as they continue to pioneer in the field of RNAi-based therapies."

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About Silence Therapeutics plc

Silence Therapeutics is developing a new generation of medicines by harnessing the body's natural

mechanism of RNA interference, or RNAi, within its cells. Its proprietary technology can selectively

inhibit any gene in the genome, specifically silencing the production of disease-causing proteins. Using

its enabling delivery systems, it has achieved an additional level of specificity by delivering its

therapeutic RNA molecules exclusively to target cells. Silence's proprietary RNA chemistries and

delivery systems are designed to improve the stability of our molecules and enhance effective delivery

to target cells, providing a powerful modular technology well suited to tackle life-threatening diseases.

For more information, please visit: https://www.silence-therapeutics.com/ 

About Genomics England

Genomics England is a company owned by the Department of Health and Social Care. It was set up to deliver the 100,000 Genomes Project, bringing genomic medicine capabilities to the NHS through the Genomic Medicine Service.

The Genomics England Discovery Forum is the collaborative industry network engaged in research on data from the 100,000 Genomes Project.

More information on the Genomics England Discovery Forum can be found here.