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Applied Genetic Technologies (AGTC) and Synpromics (private) enter a multi-target collaboration

December 9, 2015 7:17am

A BIG positive as synthetic promoters can be leveraged to develop optimized gene therapies with improved flexibility and stronger expression at lower doses. AGTC closed UP +$0.47 to $17.14 - BUY

… To develop synthetic promoters for enhanced gene therapy candidates

AGTC and Synpromics Limited, a leading synthetic promoter development company has entered into a broad, multi-target collaboration agreement.

Potential payments to be made by AGTC to Synpromics include a $1.5 M upfront payment, research funding for the collaboration, option exercise fees for each promoter and milestone payments based on clinical and commercial success followed by royalties on sales of products incorporating the covered promoters.

The collaboration will utilize Synpromics’ proprietary technology to develop and optimize synthetic promoters for multiple cell types that will be used in the development of new gene therapy candidates.

The Bottom Line: Each gene requires a promoter to decode it into a protein. The stronger the promoter the faster the gene can be decoded and as a consequence more protein can be produced. The genome is made up of a myriad of different promoters specific to each gene that has evolved to control gene expression in a particular manner.

Synthetic promoters comprise fragments of natural promoters to form new stretches of DNA sequence that do not exist in nature. Because Synpromics creates libraries of synthetic promoters comprising multiple sequence combinations, it is able to identify stronger and more specific promoters than exist in nature.

The collaboration agreement will enhance AGTC’s leadership in producing smaller promoters (so you can fit bigger genes) that will drive enhanced expression and enhanced gene therapy product development across a broad range of therapeutic targets.

The key to AAV gene therapy products will be to optimize all component parts of the product: vector, gene, promoters, manufacturing and delivery.

35 companies, 1 interpreter!

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