AskBio Acquires Synpromics to Enhance Precision and Efficacy of AAV-Based Gene Therapies

On August 13, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that biotechnology company AskBio announced the acquisition of Synpromics, a developer of promoters for controlling gene expression and regulation. Synpromics will operate independently as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AskBio, but the two parties will share intellectual property rights and plan to immediately integrate their currently developing therapeutic product portfolios. The collaboration aims to enhance more precise cell targeting and gene expression, thereby further improving gene therapies.

Synpromics was founded by Dr. Michael L. Roberts in 2010 and is headquartered in Edinburgh, UK. The company is dedicated to the development and commercialization of synthetic promoters for controlling gene expression. Synpromics has developed its proprietary PromPT platform, a multidimensional bioinformatics database that enables the design and selection of application-specific promoters, supporting the next generation of cell- and gene-based therapeutics.

Natural promoters have limitations in therapeutic applications, but Synpromics’ synthetic promoters can better regulate gene activity and precisely control protein production. They drive gene expression with precise specificity across any cell type, tissue, environment, or biological condition. This technology will make cell and gene therapies more effective.

Synpromics has emerged as a leader in the field of gene control through its proprietary genomics, bioinformatics, and intelligent data-driven design. The company delivers safer and more effective cell and gene therapies to patients, thereby improving human health.

Synpromics operates across multiple sectors, including cell and gene therapy, biologics, and a broad range of viral vector bioprocessing applications. Current partners include Audentes, BioMarin, uniQure, AGTC, Takeda, Solid Biosciences, Lonza, Oxford Biomedica, and Regeneron, as well as numerous undisclosed partners in the fields of gene therapy and bioprocessing.

AskBio, founded in 2001 and headquartered in North Carolina, USA, is a privately held clinical-stage gene therapy platform company. The company focuses on the development of adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapies. AskBio’s core technology, AAV gene therapy, is a gene therapy approach that uses adeno-associated virus as a vector.

AAV, or recombinant adeno-associated virus, is a non-pathogenic viral vector that enables long-term and effective gene expression and is amenable to genetic engineering. Recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) serves as a primary gene delivery vehicle, transporting therapeutic genetic material into target cells to cure diseases by providing new replacement genes that encode human therapeutic proteins.

The integration of AskBio’s AAV technology, capsid database, vector production systems, and multidimensional gene therapy platform with Synpromics’ promoters and bioinformatics capabilities creates opportunities for more precise targeting of complex diseases and enhanced efficacy of AAV gene therapy vectors. The application of Synpromics’ strategic portfolio of synthetic promoters in cell and gene therapy, as well as in biomanufacturing for human healthcare, significantly strengthens AskBio’s AAV gene therapy platform and therapeutic pipeline.

“By combining Synpromics’ custom synthetic promoters with AskBio’s capsid database and Pro10™ manufacturing cell line, we have achieved technological leadership in every critical component of developing rAAV-based therapies,” said Sheila Mikhail, CEO and Co-Founder of AskBio. “The completion of the acquisition of Synpromics enhances our ability to develop highly targeted gene therapies with maximal expression levels. Today, AskBio is better positioned to tackle more difficult-to-treat diseases, as we continue our efforts to deliver novel therapies for rare diseases to patients in need.”

“For the industry as a whole, the significance of our two companies in advancing gene therapy cannot be underestimated,” said David Venables, CEO of Synpromics. “Combining our company’s scientific expertise with Dr. Samulski and AskBio’s AAV platform technology can transform the quality, efficacy, and safety of gene therapy vectors, ultimately enabling AAV therapies to treat a broader range of diseases.”

(Compiled by Cheng Tao)