Outcome of “outstanding” KTP leads to key strategic partnership.

The recent announcement of a collaboration between UK-based SiSaf Ltd,
pioneers of Bio-Courier® technology, and Avellino Labs USA, Inc. brings together Avellino’s
expertise in gene-based diagnostics and therapeutics for eye diseases and SiSaf’s
ground-breaking, non-viral delivery technology. The collaboration seeks to
co-develop topical gene therapies for Corneal Dystrophies resulting from mutations in the
TGFbI gene.

“While gene replacement therapy is a validated approach for treating ocular diseases, the
adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector-based delivery approach used in most investigational
therapies have several clinical and commercial limitations. These include a limited capacity
to entrap the therapeutic cargo, the need for injection into the eye, the risk of provoking an
immune response, alongside high manufacturing costs” commented Suzanne Saffie-Siebert,
PhD, Chief Executive Officer at SiSaf. “SiSaf has demonstrated the power of their Bio-
Courier technology platform in a vast range of challenging molecules in multiple industries.
This partnership with Avellino Labs validates the broad potential of our technology to
transform gene therapy by overcoming the restrictions of current viral and non-viral delivery
systems”.

An Innovate UK/Invest Northern Ireland funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership
(KTP)  enabled SiSaf to carry out the early developmental work on nucleic acid formulations, key to SiSaf’s Bbio-Ccourier platform.

Senior Knowledge Transfer Adviser at the Knowledge Transfer Network (ktn – the organisation
which supports the delivery of the KTP programme), Joel Ferguson,  helped put together the KTP and welcomed the news, commenting that “The KTP between SiSaf Ltd and Ulster University was an outstanding partnership that exemplified what can be achieved through KTP. We are delighted to see this deal and wish SiSaf continued success in exploiting their novel bio-courier platform”.

The full story about this collaboration is here.