Sigma-Aldrich joins RNAi consortium

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation has entered into an agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to serve as a scientific collaborator and distribution partner of the RNAi Consortium (TRC).

The consortium, based at the Broad Institute in Boston, is comprised of seven research institutions and four commercial partners. Over the next three years, its goal is to create a comprehensive library of RNAi reagents designed to reduce expression of specific human and mouse genes, thereby enabling scientists to elucidate the function of the targeted gene. Other corporate partners include Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Novartis.

In addition to participating as a sponsoring member of the consortium, Sigma-Aldrich will commercially distribute clones, purified DNA and viral stocks from the RNAi libraries, facilitating their use by researchers worldwide.

'This is a unique collaborative group pursuing a common cause to create a public good: a comprehensive set of reagents to be used in thousands of laboratories,' said Dr. Eric S. Lander, director of the Broad Institute and one of TRC's principal investigators. 'In addition, the organizations will each benefit from sharing their expertise to advance the technology and accelerate its systematic application in basic biomedical research and drug discovery.'

RNAi is a natural cellular process that is involved in the regulation of gene expression. In recent years scientists have developed methods that allow RNAi to be exploited as a research tool to decipher the function of particular genes. It is widely believed that it will revolutionize the way in which life science research is conducted, and is expected to have a major impact on the understanding of the genetic basis of diseases such as cancer, arthritis and Alzheimer's.

Participation in the generation and distribution of these critical RNAi reagents is the third phase of Sigma-Aldrich's new Functional Genomics initiative.