• Founded in January 2001, Nucleonics was perhaps the first company created specifically for the purpose of developing RNAi therapeutics.
• During early 2001, Nucleonics licensed non-exclusive rights to the Fire/Mello RNAi patent from the Carnegie Institution of Washington and exclusive license rights to an RNAi patent owned by the University of Georgia. These early 2001 licensing activities positioned Nucleonics as a first mover in assembling an intellectual property estate dedicated to the enablement of RNAi therapeutics.
• In September 2003, Nucleonics was awarded a $1.6 million multi-year grant from the National Institutes of Health. The grant specifically funds investigation efforts geared toward the development of a therapeutic RNAi agent directed against hepatitis B viral infection.
• In June 2003, Nucleonics successfully licensed patents from Wyeth, on a co-exclusive basis, covering early RNAi discoveries made within the DNA vaccine programs at Wyeth and Apollon.
• Through a Series A venture financing round in November 2001 and a Series B venture financing in March and May of 2004, Nucleonics has secured $50.8 million in venture capital financing from prominent life science venture firms.
• In December 2006, Nucleonics filed the Company’s first IND for an eiRNA therapeutic directed against hepatitis B viral infection (HBV). This milestone marks the first time a therapeutic candidate employing the Company’s unique eiRNA technology was available for evaluation in human subjects.
• In 2007, Nucleonics received FDA clearance to begin a Phase 1 human safety study of its novel expressed interfering RNA (eiRNA) therapeutic to treat chronic hepatitis B viral infections (HBV). This clearance paved the way for the company to begin treating patients.
• In January 2008, Nucleonics began treating patients in its Phase 1 human safety study of its experimental treatment, NUC B1000, for chronic hepatitis B viral infections (HBV).