Summary
- Profile Type
- Technology offer
- POD Reference
- TOGB20231016010
- Term of Validity
- 16 October 2023 - 15 October 2025
- Company's Country
- United Kingdom
- Type of partnership
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Targeted Countries
- All countries
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General information
- Short Summary
- A UK startup owns and develops a novel condensate-based intracellular delivery approach for large constructs. It overcomes the limitations with the nature of the cargo, and endosomal entrapment. Developers of biological drugs and gene editing tools are invited to incorporate the new technology into R&D projects and downstream technical and commercial projects.
- Full Description
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Therapeutic macromolecules, such as intracellular antibodies, proteins, and RNA, are an emerging class of therapeutic molecules, owing to their high efficacy, specificity, and biological safety. However, their delivery across the cell membrane remains a challenge, limiting the number of potential target molecules. Similarly, the intracellular delivery of gene editing tools, such as the CRISPR components Cas9 protein and sgRNA, remains problematic due to the lack of cell-penetration of such assemblies. Current alternative strategies for the delivery of biomolecules include the use of inorganic nanoparticles, synthetic polymers, liposomes or cell-penetrating peptides as shuttles. Whilst these approaches are useful in certain applications, they suffer from various drawbacks, including complex manufacturing processes, limitations to the size or chemical nature of the cargo, and its endosomal entrapment.
A UK startup has developed a novel way to deliver the described constructs. The underlying technology is based on the formation of liquid-liquid-phase-separated condensates consisting of shuttle polymers and a therapeutic payload. This novel drug delivery modality holds great promise due to its payload versatility, biosafety, speed, and avoidance of endosomal entrapment. The technology has worked with a variety of different payloads, including large IgG antibodies.
The team of scientists at the company combines expertise in a range of biomedically relevant areas, including protein-engineering and condensate biology, as well as medicinal chemistry and high-throughput microscopy screening. The company’s mission is to deploy this know-how and the emerging understanding of liquid-liquid-phase-separation to develop therapeutic solutions for condensate-associated diseases and innovative tools for synthetic biology applications.
Joint drug delivery projects are now being sought as bids for R&D funding opportunities, as well as for potential further collaborations or business interactions. - Advantages and Innovations
- Biomolecular condensate science is an emerging field that promises to transform the delivery of biological drugs. Large constructs can be delivered in a highly targeted way.
- Stage of Development
- Available for demonstration
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being
- IPR status
- IPR granted
- IPR notes
- Exclusive access to IP rights and own IP to be filed soon.
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
-
Type of partner sought: industry.
Specific area of partner sought: developers of biological drugs. Possible partners include companies who have developed biological payloads (therapeutic antibodies, intrabodies, gene-editing assemblies, mRNA), and who now wish to collaborate on a joint drug delivery project.
Role of partner sought: to jointly plan for drug delivery projects under competitive R&D funding or as a service. - Type and Size of Partner
- SME 11-49
- Big company
- R&D Institution
- SME 50 - 249
- SME <=10
- Type of partnership
- Research and development cooperation agreement
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 06002009 - Molecular design
- 06001015 - Pharmaceutical Products / Drugs
- 06002002 - Cellular and Molecular Biology
- 06002006 - Synthetic Biology
- Market keywords
- 04017 - Micro- and Nanotechnology related to Biological sciences
- 05003005 - Drug delivery and other equipment
- Sector Groups Involved
- Energy-Intensive Industries
- Targeted countries
- All countries