Touchlight Expands mbDNA Platform with Three New Circular DNA Architectures for Gene Therapy
Key Insights
Touchlight (search) announced the expansion of its mbDNA (search) platform with three new circular DNA architectures: sscDNA (search), hsscDNA (search), and dscDNA (search), designed to overcome traditional gene editing limitations.
The mbDNA (search) technology achieves 60-75% knock-in rates in primary T cells with minimal toxicity and supports payload capacity up to 20kb for large genetic cargo delivery.
The new DNA constructs offer enhanced stability, reduced immunogenicity, and compatibility with various gene insertion technologies including transposases, recombinases, and episomal expression systems.
Touchlight (search), a leader in cell-free DNA technology, has announced a significant expansion of its groundbreaking mbDNA (search) platform with the introduction of three new circular DNA architectures: sscDNA (search), hsscDNA (search), and dscDNA (search). These innovative constructs join the original mbDNA technology, which debuted earlier this year, to form a comprehensive portfolio designed to overcome the limitations of traditional gene editing tools.
The expanded platform delivers enhanced stability, reduced immunogenicity, and compatibility with a broad range of gene insertion and expression technologies, setting a new standard for precision and performance in genetic engineering applications.
mbDNA Technology Demonstrates Superior Performance
The mbDNA (search) (megabulb DNA) represents a pioneering single-stranded DNA technology produced through Touchlight (search)'s proprietary cell-free enzymatic platform. The technology delivers high purity and minimal immunogenicity for safer outcomes, combined with enzymatic production for optimal reliability and scalability.
Clinical performance data shows mbDNA (search) achieves high homology-directed repair (HDR (search)) efficiency with low toxicity, consistently reaching knock-in rates of 60-75% in primary T cells. The technology offers predictable performance with low donor-donor variability, addressing a key challenge in gene editing applications.
A significant advantage of mbDNA (search) is its expanded payload capacity of up to 20kb, enabling the delivery of large genetic cargos and unlocking new possibilities for advanced gene editing. Primary applications include homology-directed repair (HDR (search)) and episomal expression.
Three New Circular DNA Architectures Expand Therapeutic Options
The flexible nature of Touchlight (search)'s novel circular DNA molecules allows for bespoke designs to optimize gene therapy platforms that utilize DNA payloads for episomal expression or integration. Each of the three new architectures offers distinct structural advantages:
sscDNA (search) is a fully single-stranded circular DNA molecule, providing maximum flexibility for specific gene editing applications.
hsscDNA (search) contains bespoke double-stranded region(s) of user-defined length, offering hybrid functionality that combines the benefits of both single and double-stranded DNA.
dscDNA (search) is a fully double-stranded circular molecule, designed for applications requiring traditional double-stranded DNA functionality.
The sequence of all DNA constructs are completely user-defined and ideal for transposases, recombinases, homology-independent targeted integration (HITI (search)), and episomal expression applications.
Industry Leadership in Cell-Free DNA Production
"mbDNA (search) is a market leading technology providing the best-in-class HDR (search) template available today," said Karen Fallen, CEO at Touchlight (search). "With the addition of sscDNA (search), hsscDNA (search), and dscDNA (search), we're empowering researchers and developers to unlock new possibilities in gene editing and therapeutic innovation."
Touchlight (search) has established itself as a pioneer in the field, with an FDA Drug Master File accepted in 2022, followed by the awarding of the world's first cell-free DNA GMP license in 2025. Multiple client products utilizing Touchlight's technology are already in clinical trials.
The company's synthetic DNA manufacturing solutions offer a scalable, sustainable alternative to traditional plasmid DNA (pDNA) production methods based on bacterial fermentation, which are often slow, costly, and unable to meet the growing demands of genetic medicine due to limited scalability and speed.
Advancing Genetic Medicine Applications
The expanded mbDNA (search) portfolio addresses critical needs in genetic medicine development, supporting applications across viral vectors, mRNA therapeutics, non-viral gene therapy, DNA vaccines, and gene editing platforms. The customizable nature of these circular DNA molecules makes them particularly suitable for next-generation gene therapy platforms requiring precise, stable, and scalable DNA payloads for episomal expression or genomic integration.
Founded in 2007, Touchlight (search)'s enzymatic DNA technology represents the cutting edge of genetic medicine innovation, built on the conviction that DNA is fundamental to the future of medicine. The company's cell-free enzymatic platform supports pre-clinical, clinical, and commercial development across the genetic medicine spectrum.