Ginkgo Bioworks Partners with STRM.BIO and UBC to Develop In Vivo CAR Therapies for Autoimmune Diseases Under ARPA-H Program
核心洞察
Ginkgo Bioworks has partnered with STRM.BIO (搜索) and the University of British Columbia under ARPA-H (搜索)'s EMBODY program to develop in vivo CAR therapies (搜索) for autoimmune diseases (搜索) like systemic lupus erythematosus (搜索) and myasthenia gravis (搜索).
The INVITE-ME project combines STRM.BIO (搜索)'s megakaryocyte-derived extracellular vesicle delivery system with Ginkgo's RNA construct design expertise to engineer T cells directly in bone marrow without costly ex vivo manipulation.
The collaboration aims to create transformative therapies that can selectively eliminate autoreactive B and T cells, potentially offering durable treatments while avoiding the broad immune suppression risks of current therapies.
Ginkgo Bioworks has announced a collaboration with STRM.BIO (搜索) and the University of British Columbia (UBC) as part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health's (ARPA-H (搜索)) Engineering of Immune Cell Inside the Body (EMBODY) program. The partnership aims to develop in vivo chimeric antigen receptor (搜索) (CAR) therapies for autoimmune diseases (搜索), leveraging Ginkgo's expertise in RNA construct design and immune cell engineering.
The collaboration addresses a significant medical challenge, as autoimmune diseases (搜索) such as systemic lupus erythematosus (搜索) (SLE) and myasthenia gravis (搜索) (MG) affect millions of people worldwide and pose significant public health challenges. These conditions are characterized by the immune system mistakenly attacking the body's own cells, leading to chronic inflammation and tissue damage. Current treatments often involve systemic immunosuppression, which can result in increased risks of infection and other side effects due to broad immune suppression.
INVITE-ME Project Technology
The project, titled "IN VIvo T-cell Engineering with Megakaryocyte EVs" (INVITE-ME), focuses on developing in vivo CAR-T therapies (搜索) for autoimmune diseases (搜索) by combining STRM.BIO (搜索)'s proprietary megakaryocyte-derived extracellular vesicle (MV) delivery system with Ginkgo's RNA construct design expertise. The MV platform delivers complex genetic cargo directly to bone marrow-resident cells, enabling in situ engineering of T cells without the need for costly and lengthy ex vivo manipulation.
This approach aims to create transformative therapies that could eliminate autoreactive immune cells, potentially offering durable treatments for diseases like SLE and MG. The goal is to develop in vivo CAR therapies (搜索) that can selectively eliminate autoreactive B and T cells without the need for ex vivo cell manipulation or genome editing.
Partnership Capabilities and Expertise
The partnership will leverage Ginkgo's nucleic acid AI and machine learning capabilities, along with its immune cell engineering expertise, to identify and optimize constructs for long-lived, tissue-specific, and highly potent expression of CAR genes. UBC will provide further expertise in the design of self-amplifying RNA motifs, further extending the potency and lifetime of these constructs.
"This is an exciting opportunity to partner with ARPA-H (搜索), STRM.BIO (搜索), and UBC on an important effort in a unique public-private partnership structure," said Jesse Dill, Government BD Lead at Ginkgo Bioworks. "Our team is thrilled to extend and apply Ginkgo's RNA design capabilities to support the development of this exciting new modality for in vivo CAR-T therapeutics."
Dr. Taeyoon Kyung, Senior Engineer at Ginkgo Bioworks, added, "Our advanced capabilities in RNA construct design and screening make us a strong partner for teams aiming to push the boundaries for this new therapeutic modality. We look forward to contributing to this significant project and using our platform to advance novel optimized RNA-based therapeutics to the clinic."
Strategic Significance
Dr. David Raiser, COO of STRM.BIO (搜索), emphasized the collaboration's potential impact: "By combining STRM.BIO's MV delivery platform with Ginkgo's expertise in RNA construct design, we aim to create transformative therapies that could redefine the management of autoimmune diseases (搜索). This collaboration brings together leading-edge technologies and expertise to address a significant unmet medical need."
This initiative underscores Ginkgo's commitment to advancing RNA engineering and establishing itself as a credible partner in RNA cargo design for therapeutics companies. By participating in this groundbreaking program, Ginkgo plans to further develop and demonstrate its capabilities in RNA engineering and in vivo therapeutic delivery, contributing to the advancement of novel treatments for complex autoimmune diseases (搜索).
The EMBODY program is led by ARPA-H (搜索) Program Manager Daria Fedyukina, Ph.D., representing a significant government investment in advancing next-generation immunotherapies that could transform treatment paradigms for autoimmune conditions.