GeekGene's Novel T-cell Therapy Project Recognized as a National Disruptive Technology by China's Ministry of Science and Technology

The finals of the 2022 China Disruptive Technology Innovation Competition (hereinafter referred to as the Competition), hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology and organized by the Torch Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology, concluded not long ago. Dr. Yong Jun, founder of Suzhou Geek Gene Technology Co., Ltd., along with the core team, participated in the competition with the project "Development of Novel T-cell Drugs Based on High-throughput Transcriptome Technology" and won the highest award of this year's Competition – the Excellence Award.

Geek Gene is an innovative cell drug development company characterized by the regulation of cell fate through high-throughput omics data, currently focusing on preparing high-quality T cells for the treatment of advanced solid tumors.

In the past 10 years, cell therapy has made tremendous breakthroughs in the treatment of major human diseases, especially cancer, but still faces many key bottleneck issues. Among them, the most prominent problem is:ImmunityIn vitro cell culture easily leads to functional attenuation and exhaustion. Starting from the underlying logic, Suzhou Geek Gene Technology Co., Ltd. has developed a cell fate navigation system through its core competitive technology—simultaneously monitoring the regulatory relationships of tens of thousands of gene expressions during the cell culture process—thereby transforming the traditional T-cell preparation model. The company's first product pipeline is tumor-reactive T-cells, which contain a high proportion of tumor-specific T-cells with a naive phenotype, and have already achieved internationally leading efficacy data in preclinical tumor animal models.

The core team of Geek Gene comes from prestigious universities such as Peking University, Harvard University, and the University of Tokyo, with over a decade of experience in sequencing technology and cell programming. They possess world-leading platforms for single-cell multi-omics data collection, low-cost high-throughput omics technology, and cell fate reprogramming technology. The stability of their related data is at the forefront globally, and their core patent is one of the earliest approved patents for this type of technology platform worldwide.

Based on three major technology platforms, Geek Gene has developed a cell fate navigation system and successfully created innovative cell therapy drugs. Lai Weifeng, Ph.D., Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Geek Gene, stated that reactivating terminally exhausted T cells to unleash their therapeutic potential is the key challenge for the entire field.Tumor ImmunologyA major challenge in the field. Suzhou Geek Gene Technology Co., Ltd. is not about enhancing or reducing the expression of a certain gene in the traditional T-cell culture model. Instead, it innovates technologically by leveraging its core competitive advantage—using a cell fate navigation system to enhance the anti-tumor potential of T cells from the ground up.

Currently, Geek Gene has successfully developed its first product pipeline — Tumor-Reactive T Cells, which contain a high proportion of naive tumor-specific T cells. This product has achieved internationally leading efficacy data in preclinical tumor animal models. The company announced the completion of its Pre-A round of financing in early February this year.