Imagine your brain is like a circuit board where some wires have snapped due to a stroke. Instead of trying to plug in new wires from outside, this technology teaches the brain's own 'support cells' to transform into new working neurons. It uses a special delivery system that acts like a precise courier to deliver these instructions without using viruses.
The brain cannot repair itself after a stroke or neurodegenerative disease. Current gene therapies often rely on viral vectors which can pose safety risks and delivery challenges.
A non-viral delivery formulation for epigenetic editing. It is designed to target glial cells and reprogram them into functional neurons.
If you are a gene therapy developer dealing with the safety risks of viral vectors — this project developed a non-viral delivery formulation that targets glial cells to reprogram them into neurons. This reduces the risks associated with viral delivery in brain regeneration.
If you are a neurological drug delivery specialist dealing with the difficulty of crossing the blood-brain barrier — this project developed a formulation and tested several administration routes to increase accumulation in the brain. This enables more effective delivery of epigenetic editing tools.
If you are a GLP toxicology laboratory dealing with the need for standardized safety protocols for epigenetic tools — this project developed toxicological studies under GLP conditions to evaluate systemic and local brain effects. This provides a validated safety roadmap for brain reprogramming.
Based on available project data, the specific cost per dose or unit price is not provided; however, the EU contribution for the development is EUR 2,943,233.
The project aims to reach TRL4 and explicitly includes a roadmap for upscaling the innovation to higher TRLs. The consortium includes a large company, Hovione, which specializes in production.
Based on available project data, specific licensing terms are not listed, but the project involves a consortium of 6 partners including 3 industry players to manage exploitation.
The project runs from 2024-03-01 to 2028-02-29. A roadmap for upscaling will be developed by the end of the action.
Safety is evaluated through in vitro tests in neural cell models and in vivo toxicological studies performed under GLP conditions.
The consortium is highly commercially oriented with a 50% industry ratio, comprising 3 industry partners (including 2 SMEs and 1 large company) and 3 academic/research entities. This balance, combined with the presence of a large company like Hovione and a specialized biotech SME like SINGLE, suggests a strong focus on moving the technology from the lab toward a scalable product.
Contact the Universidade de Coimbra research office regarding the REGENERAR project.
Contact us to explore licensing opportunities for non-viral brain delivery systems.
