Summary
November 10, 2022
PETACH-TIKVA, ISRAEL – Aposense, an Israeli biotechnology company, with transformational drug delivery technology, announced today that it has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the continued development of the company’s groundbreaking macromolecule drug delivery platform.
Aposense has developed a unique modality for delivery of macromolecules directly into cells. Macromolecules such as DNA, RNA and proteins are unable to cross the membranes that separate all cells from their environments. The membrane barrier has prevented the development of a wide range of drugs which could be used to treat ailments that are currently undruggable. The Aposense delivery modality harnesses the electrical dipole potential intrinsic to all cell membranes. This delivery modality employs a family of small molecules, termed “molecular nanomotors” (MNMs), which have been purpose-built to interact with the membrane dipole potential and achieve the intracellular delivery of macromolecules.
As a first application of the technology, Aposense, through its subsidiary SirVir, has focused on the intracellular delivery of siRNA drugs. Aposense-SirVir have, in a short period of time, generated promising drug candidates for SARS-CoV-2 (Phase I trial planned for Q1 2023 under the auspices of Oxford University) and RSV (pre- clinical work on formulation and method of administration to be concluded in 2023), and are extending the platform for use in treating Influenza, Cystic Fibrosis as well as common forms of hearing loss.
Aposense will utilize the funds from the Gates Foundation to extend the MNM platform for the delivery of mRNA, as well as for targeted delivery upon systemic administration of siRNA.
“We are very proud to receive this funding from the Gates Foundation.” said Yuval Gottenstein, the CEO of Aposense. “We are eager to extend our technology for targeted extrahepatic delivery of siRNA, as it holds the potential to enable therapy for many diseases which are currently incurable. Also, for quite some time we have
been discussing the applicability of our MNMs for larger RNA molecules, such as mRNA, and we can’t wait to initiate this work.”
The mRNA and siRNA work being funded by the Gates Foundation will be accompanied by additional projects. These projects are aimed to demonstrate the efficacy of the MNM in mediating delivery of additional “cargo” types, which due to the delivery challenge, have so far been out of reach of the pharmaceutical industry.
“Aposense technology will create an entirely new realm of pharmacology” added Professor Roger Kornberg, Scientific President of Aposense and the 2006 Noble Laureate in Chemistry. “DNA, RNA and peptides, the most diverse, powerful, and programmable molecules in nature, will be widely useful as therapeutics for the first time.”
About Aposense
Aposense is a highly innovative Israeli bio-pharmaceutical company, specializing in the development of a universal platform entitled Molecular Nano-Motors (MNMs) for the delivery of macromolecule drugs into cells, utilizing membrane electrical forces.
Grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will support Development of Groundbreaking Macromolecule Drug Delivery Platform