Our client is APSE, an exciting agriculturally-based start-up working to decrease the production costs of topical Ribonucleic Acid Interference (RNAi). Topical RNAi is a biological process whereby RNA is applied directly to a plant or pest (usually by spraying) so that expression of certain genetic traits is suppressed, thereby modifying the characteristics of plants or the pests. For example, by spraying RNA onto a plant and triggering the RNAi process, a company could create potato plants that are immune to Colorado Potato Beetle or target the “citrus greening,” a bacterium that is currently devastating citrus trees across the United States.

Our CELect team is comprised of three law students and one business student: Surgene Troost, MBA ‘16; Aidan Lee, JD ‘17; Haley Stern, JD ‘16; Timothy Ly, JD ‘16.

Funding and research into RNAi has grown exponentially in the last decade as companies and institutions have begun to realize many of the advantages of RNAi.These advantages include:

• RNAi allows for very targeted suppression of gene expression, so the off-target effects of RNAi are very limited.
• RNA degrades quickly after use, so its effect on the environment is negligible.
• RNA is expected to be safe for human consumption, thus avoiding the problems encountered by toxic pesticides.
• RNA does not interfere with the genetic makeup of a plant or organism, so it is not a form of GMO.

Our Project
Despite the promise of topical RNAi, there are still fundamental problems related to production and development of RNAi. One bottleneck is the cost of producing the RNA needed for RNAi. APSE has several patents pending on a process that will drive the cost of producing RNA down significantly. Through further research, APSE continues to refine the process for producing RNA such that the yield of RNA will increase and the cost of producing RNA will be cut even further.

John Killmer, the CEO of APSE, has asked our team to do a bottom-up market analysis for RNAi because RNAi research has progressed so rapidly in the last few years that it’s less clear what exactly the market looks like. This means that we’ll be interviewing leading researchers, company officials, and other important players in the field of RNAi. The ultimate goal is to understand how APSE fits into that marketplace and provide a recommendation to Dr. Killmer about how he should adjust his business model to best accommodate his potential customers and meet demand.

This project has been incredibly challenging and exciting for all of us. We have fun learning about RNAi (most of us do not have a science background), and trying to get a feel for a market that is rapidly changing. We have also enjoyed working with Dr. Killmer, who has been incredibly supportive of us throughout the process.