Concept, Discovery and Development of MMI Linkage: Story of a Novel Linkage: for Antisense Constructs

M ethylene( m ethyl i mino) or MMI linkage is a novel backbone modification that has enormous potential in the oligonucleotide-based antisense therapeutics as a replacement for the natural phosphodiester linkage. This presentation synopsis covers the rationale, detailed SAR on the optimization process of this linkage vs. others, various synthetic strategies to construct MMI linkage and a brief discussion on the biological properties of the modified oligonucleotides.