Lipid nanoparticle delivery of mRNA gene therapy for hemophilia A
The Problem
Hemophilia is a rare genetic condition affecting more than 250,000 people worldwide, according to a 2021 report from the World Federation of Hemophilia [1]. People with the disease lack the ability to produce a blood clotting factor, which is factor VIII for hemophilia A [2]. The current standard of care is factor replacement therapy which requires multiple intravenous injections per week, often starting a young age. This represents a huge burden on patients’ quality of life and creates treatment compliance issues [2]. Gene therapies using single stranded DNA and adeno associated viruses (AAVs) as the delivery vehicle have emerged as a way to stimulate endogenous production of the missing clotting factor [2], [3] Such therapies drastically decrease the treatment frequency [3], [4]. However, durability of treatment remains an issue, especially in hemophilia A due to difficulties in effectively packaging the larger factor VIII coding sequence into AAVs. Manufacturing AAV-based therapies is also cumbersome and difficult to achieve on a large scale while maintaining appropriate quality [3]. Finally, there is a risk of oncogenic mutagenesis associated with viral integration [5], [6].
The Solution
Nanoheme proposes to design optimized lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for the delivery of a mRNA gene therapy for hemophilia A. Significant advancements were made in mRNA vaccines delivered via LNPs around the year 2020 as part of the global effort to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. The same technology shows promise to treat many cancers and rare diseases [7], such as hemophilia [5], [6]. There is no risk of oncogenic mutagenesis when using mRNA-loaded LNPs for hemophilia, and no promoter is needed, which decreases the delivery vehicle volume required [5], [6]. The aim of this project is to synthesize and characterize LNPs with adequate packaging capacity, as well as improved encapsulation efficiency and immunogenicity.
Sponsorship
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Recruitment
Recruitment for the 2024-2025 academic year will open in September for team leads and research members.