Tekmira and Collaborators Present Data at the AACRMeeting on Tekmira's Lead Oncology Product, TKM-PLK1, and an Oncology Product Candidate Targeting Kinase WEE1

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation TKMR announced today that it will present additional data on its lead oncology product candidate, TKM-PLK1, at the AACR Annual Meeting 2011 taking place April 2-6, 2011 in Orlando, Florida. In addition, Tekmira's collaboration partner, the National Cancer Institute, will present a poster that includes anti-tumor activity data from silencing a promising cell cycle kinase target enabled by Tekmira's lipid nanoparticle delivery technology. In a presentation entitled, "Preclinical Characterization of TKM-080301, a Lipid Nanoparticle Formulation of Small Interfering RNA Directed Against Polo-like Kinase 1," Tekmira will present data supporting the development of TKM-PLK1 as a treatment for cancer. The presentation outlines the rational design of siRNA against polo-like kinase 1, a protein involved in tumor cell proliferation and an important oncology target. Inhibition of PLK1 prevents the tumor cell from completing cell division, resulting in cancer cell death.