Minding the gap: Unlockingthe therapeutic potentialof aptamers and making up for lost time

Annalisa Di Ruscio; Vittorio de Franciscis

doi:10.1016/j.omtn.2022.07.012

Minding the gap: Unlockingthe therapeutic potentialof aptamers and making up for lost time

Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2022 Aug 6:29:384-386. doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2022.07.012. eCollection 2022 Sep 13.

Authors

Annalisa Di Ruscio^{1

2}, Vittorio de Franciscis^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Cancer Research Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue Boston, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
² Harvard Medical School Initiative for RNA Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
³ Institute of Genetic and Biomedical Research (IRGB), CNR, Milan 20090, Italy.

Abstract

Aptamers are RNAs that can bind proteins directly and modulate protein-protein interactions. Given their therapeutic potential, aptamers would be expected to capture the interest of both scientists and investors. However, concerns regarding safety, efficacy, and delivery have delayed aptamer development and dampened investor support. Herein, we discuss the major hurdles stalling the translational application of aptamers over recent years and focus on approaches to overcome current barriers and attract the scientific community and investors to the aptamer field.

Publication types

Editorial