On September 8, 2021 ATP, a leader in life sciences venture capital, reported the launch of Replicate Bioscience, a company pioneering ways to prevent drug resistance in cancer, and treat autoimmune and inflammatory disorders and other diseases, using self-replicating RNA (srRNA) (Press release, Replicate Bioscience, SEP 8, 2021, View Source [SID1234587380]). Replicate will use $40 million in committed Series A funding from ATP to advance multiple novel srRNA programs into clinical development.
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"Next-generation srRNA agents are taking RNA therapeutics into many more areas of disease treatment, and what Replicate is doing to define and expand this field is completely new and exciting," said Michael Ehlers, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of ATP and a venture partner at the firm. "ATP is investing in Replicate because we see the company’s technology as a quantum leap in RNA therapeutics."
Self-replicating RNAs, or srRNAs, work by copying themselves inside cells of the body and instructing the cells to make, and keep making, therapeutic proteins. Replicate uses synthetic biology, original molecular design principles, and a diverse, proprietary repertoire of virally derived vectors to engineer custom srRNAs that offer unique advantages compared to other RNA or srRNA therapeutic approaches. These advantages include lower dosing levels by several orders of magnitude; increased duration of therapeutic effect; and selectively programmed ability to either activate or evade the immune system.
Nathaniel Wang, Ph.D., Replicate Bioscience Chief Executive Officer, said: "We started Replicate to build a best-in-class srRNA platform from scratch—to pursue our vision of a better way to make srRNAs that we are convinced can solve life-threatening medical problems, from drug resistance in cancer to autoimmune and inflammatory disorders and more. We are thrilled to partner with ATP, to accelerate our progress towards realizing that vision for patients."
Dr. Wang and Andrew Geall, Ph.D., Replicate Chief Development Officer, previously collaborated on srRNA technologies at Synthetic Genomics and at Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. They joined with a former colleague, Herbert Kim Lyerly, M.D., and Zachary Hartman, Ph.D., both professors of cancer research and immunology at Duke University, to develop an srRNA application capable of preventing or removing drug-resistant cancer mutations—a tactic they dubbed "synthetic immune lethality." Replicate Bioscience is developing synthetic immune lethality srRNAs for concurrent administration with targeted therapies in solid tumors. Beyond cancer, Replicate is developing different types of srRNAs for autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, and the company’s versatile technology platform also lends itself to deployment in other disease areas.
The Replicate Bioscience Board of Directors is chaired by Dr. Ehlers and includes as members Dr. Wang; Seth Harrison, M.D., founder and managing partner of ATP; and Joseph A. Yanchik III, a venture partner at ATP. The company’s Scientific Advisory Board includes Drs. Lyerly and Hartman; Philip Santangelo, Ph.D., a spatial biologist and professor of biomedical engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; and Jeffrey Ulmer, Ph.D., former head of preclinical R&D at GlaxoSmithKline and former global head of external research at Novartis. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California.