Ion-ARPA request for proposals: Strategies for Increasing antisense oligonucleotides On-Rate In Vivo – White papers

The therapeutic performance of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) in vivo is potentially limited not by equilibrium binding affinity, but by the kinetics of productive target engagement (on rate). Within cells, ASOs encounter a highly crowded and heterogeneous environment characterized by low effective target concentrations, extensive RNA secondary and tertiary structure, competition from abundant non-target RNAs, and restricted temporal access to relevant subcellular compartments. Despite its importance, ASO on-rate optimization remains underexplored relative to affinity and stability engineering, representing a potentially significant opportunity for innovation in antisense therapeutics. This request for proposals seeks novel ideas to increase the on-rate of ASOs.

Funding:Up to $500,000 per year for up to 2 years, renewable with successful progress.

https://ionis.com/ION-ARPA-RFP-Strategies-for-Increasing-ASO-On-Rate-In-Vivo