Laverock Therapeutics, a London-based biotechnology company developing disease-responsive advanced therapies, has announced in vivo programmes spanning CAR-T and genetic medicine. The programmes add to the company’s existing work in ex vivo cell therapies and broaden the range of indications it can address in oncology and genetic disease.

Platform and prior validation

The company’s technology provides programmable, tunable and multiplex gene control, applicable both to endogenous targets and to transgenically expressed payloads. Laverock reports that the platform has been validated across several cell therapy applications, including armoured autologous T cells and iPSC-derived macrophages directed at solid tumours. The new in vivo programmes are intended to offer greater efficacy, safety, accessibility and scalability for CAR-T therapy.

In vivo CAR-T for solid tumours

Development of in vivo CAR-T to date has concentrated on haematological malignancies. Laverock notes that its technology is suited to extending the approach to solid tumours, which account for 90% of all cancer cases. According to the company, the platform can be tailored to specific tumour types and is designed to counter the complex inhibitory factors associated with the tumour micro­-environment.

Gene silencing in genetic medicine

In genetic medicine, Laverock will use in vivo gene silencing through direct delivery of gene editing tools. The initial focus is on nervous system disorders and metabolic disease. The company argues that its approach is well matched to these areas because they often require simultaneous control of several targets or pathways, together with precise or context-specific regulation of gene expression. It anticipates that this will address a number of limitations seen with conventional gene editing and RNA interference (RNAi) technologies.

The company noted that the expanded focus reflects growing industry interest in therapies that can be delivered directly to patients while retaining the precision and safety required for complex diseases.

David Venables, chief executive officer of Laverock Therapeutics, said: “Building on our success in developing ex vivo therapeutics, we are extremely excited to announce the launch of our in vivo programmes, and realise the benefits these cutting edge technologies can bring to patients. This area is highly innovative, and our platform can provide a key element to realising its potential.”

Partnering

Laverock has a number of technology partnerships under way in these areas and is seeking further collaboration and co-development opportunities.

For more information, visit: https://www.laverocktx.com/partnering