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The genus Laetiporus has attracted attention for its extracts exhibiting antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antithrombin bioactivities.

Guay, who is completing his Ph.D. in the molecular cellular biology program at UMass Amherst, focused on two specific mammalian proteins, known as alpha-1 antitrypsin and antithrombin.

The drug, fitusiran, targets the production of antithrombin, a protein that inhibits clotting.

By silencing a gene for antithrombin, fitusiran enables a rise in the production of the enzyme thrombin, which helps the blood to clot.

But rather than inhibiting antithrombin's activity, the company plans to block its expression by using short strands of RNA to silence the messenger RNA that carries the code for antithrombin—an approach called RNA interference.