Oxford Science Enterprises and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals, together with the University of Edinburgh’s Old College Capital venture investment fund, have created a startup called AlveoGene to develop inhaled gene therapies based on a lentivirus platform technology licensed from the UK Respiratory Gene Therapy Consortium (GTC). The new company, led by Executive Chair David Hipkiss (formerly CEO of Prosonix), will focus at first on development of AVG-001, a nebulized gene therapy for the treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AAT).
AlveoGene now has an exclusive license to develop inhaled gene therapies based on the InGenuiTy platform for the treatment of respiratory diseases, with the exception of CFTR gene therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. The GTC partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim, Imperial Innovations, and Oxford BioMedica in 2018 to develop an inhaled CFTR gene therapy for the treatment of CF.
Hipkiss commented, “I am truly excited to lead this new venture. The combination of pioneering science, an extensively validated platform, access to world-leading expertise through our founding scientists and the backing of OSE, Harrington and OCC, provides a fantastic foundation for the company. This will enable AlveoGene to rapidly advance our first candidate – AVG-001 a unique, inhaled gene therapy for AATD – towards clinical development. In addition, we intend to explore other opportunities to leverage our powerful IngenuiTy platform alongside other complementary technologies to create first-in-class inhaled gene therapies with the potential to transform outcomes for patients with rare respiratory diseases.”
Read the AlveoGene press release.
