2019.12.13
Recently, the candidate projects for the 2019 Gusu Innovation and Entrepreneurship Leading Talents Program were announced, and two projects from Cure Genetics were selected, namely the development of novel adeno-associated viral vectors with tissue-specific targeting and the application of innovative AAV serotype for genetic disease treatment.
As an emerging translational biotechnology company, Cure Genetics places great importance to the technological innovation and the translation of scientific research. With CRISPR gene editing technology as its core platform, the company has laid out the fields of gene and cell therapy, and molecular diagnosis. Among them, the first product in the field of cell therapy has been approved for National Significant Innovation Projects. As for molecular diagnosis, the company has developed a rapid detection kit for African Swine Fever Virus Nucleic Acid, which has entered the R&D stage and is filing for the application of veterinary new drug. The two selected projects belong to the field of gene therapy for genetic diseases and rare diseases, which focus on ophthalmology, liver, muscle and nerve diseases.
Cure Genetics is led by top R&D talents from well-known universities and research institutions from home and abroad with rich experience in new drug development. The company has built 3000m2 R&D and GMP production center and with core research platform anchored by CRISPR technology, it has lays a solid foundation for the commercialization of gene editing.
Gusu Innovation and Entrepreneurship Leading Talents Program
In the efforts to attract and nurture talents and create first-class talent ecology, the Suzhou government has launched the Gusu Innovation and Entrepreneurship Leader Talents Program. In 2019, the Suzhou government planned to further attract and support major innovation teams and high-level leading talents for innovation and entrepreneurship. The plan focuses on strategic emerging industries, high-end service industries, modern agriculture and other industrial fields that meet the needs of Suzhou's transformation, as well as economic and social development. It also focuses on introducing innovative and entrepreneurial leading talents and teams in forward-looking strategic emerging industries such as nanotechnology, high-end equipment, intelligent manufacturing, new materials, new energy, biomedicine and medical devices, new generation information technology, energy conservation and environmental protection.
Introduction of selected projects
Development of novel adeno-associated viral vectors with tissue-specific targeting
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is currently the most commonly used gene therapy vector in clinical practice. However, AAV vectors are often not tissue-specific and affected by neutralizing antibodies, making them difficult to deliver systemically to human body and extremely expensive. This project will establish a large-scale vector development platform to screen AAV vectors with better tissue specificity, thus breaking the limitation of drug delivery and reducing drug cost, providing new drugs for gene therapy in China.
Application of innovative serotype AAV in the field of genetic disease therapy
This project mainly focuses on the innovative serotype screening platform to screen for novel serotypes of AAV with stronger tissue specificity and lower immunity for rare diseases. By manufacturing affordable products to patients with our efficient production platform, we are aiming to solve the problem of high cost in difficulty to treat rare disease.
