SKOKIE, Ill., Oct. 15, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Exicure is pleased to announce that Chad A. Mirkin, Ph.D., co-founder and director of Exicure, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in Convergence Research from the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Mirkin is being awarded the prize for his advances in biomedicine, including spherical nucleic acid (SNA) technology. The prize was presented Tuesday, October 13, 2015, at the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C.
"The potential for spherical nucleic acids to impact human health continues to be validated, most recently with Chad Mirkin's receipt of the inaugural Sackler Prize," said Dr. David Giljohann, Chief Executive Officer of Exicure. "This is not only a high honor for Chad, but also a validating testament to the power and potential of the SNA platform."
The Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in Convergence Research recognizes significant advances in convergence research -- the integration of two or more of the following disciplines: mathematics, physics, chemistry, biomedicine, biology, astronomy, earth sciences, engineering, and computational science -- for achievements possible only through such integration. The inaugural prize is presented for convergence research that benefits human health.
About Spherical Nucleic Acids
SNAs are nanoscale, spherical arrangements of densely packed and radially oriented nucleic acids. This architecture seeks to overcome one of the most difficult obstacles to nucleic acid based therapeutics: safe and effective delivery into cells and tissues of therapeutic importance without the need for additional physical or chemical methods or components. The SNAs hold the potential to be extremely potent and highly targeted gene regulation and immune-modulatory agents.
About Exicure
Exicure, formerly AuraSense Therapeutics, is developing a new class of immune-modulatory and gene-silencing drugs against validated targets. Our 3-D, spherical nucleic acid (SNA™) architecture seeks to unlock the potential of nucleic acid therapeutics in multiple organs. Our lead programs target diseases from inflammatory disorders to oncology.