Bayer partners with Acuitas, bringing in LNP tech for gene editing work

Bayer has signed up to be the latest partner with Acuitas Therapeutics, working with a specialist provider whose lipid nanoparticles were used to deliver multiple mRNA Covid vaccines and is being tested for other applications such as gene editing.

With sights set on gene editing and protein replacement therapies, the German pharma and its gene therapy-focused affiliate, AskBio, will both gain access to Acuitas’ lipid technology and LNP carriers, which would bring RNA payloads to the liver. The hope, the company hinted, is to get its first in vivo gene editing programs into the clinic faster.

Jost Reinhard

Jost Reinhard, head of cell and gene therapy at Bayer’s pharmaceutical division, highlighted how Acuitas’ tech is both “clinically-validated and scalable.”

Bayer has yet to shed light on its lead gene editing candidates. In early 2022, it kickstarted a collaboration with Mammoth Biosciences, a spinout from CRISPR maven Jennifer Doudna’s lab, to develop new treatments for liver-targeted diseases. (Separately, Bayer’s agriculture division has also touted gene editing in crops.)

For its gene editing programs, Bayer plans to pair the LNPs from Acuitas with gene editors from its Mammoth partnership. However, Bayer’s Reinhard declined to comment in an interview with Endpoints News on what those programs would target and when they might be in the clinic.

While AskBio has historically made its name in developing adeno-associated viruses, or AAVs, to deliver gene therapy, it’s recently waded into new delivery methods. In January, it teamed up with ReCode Therapeutics, tapping another LNP platform. With that platform, Reinhard noted that Bayer is exploring ways to get non-viral delivery of genetic medicines outside of the liver, an obstacle no one has figured out quite yet.

Acuitas, a Canadian player founded in 2019, can boast of a longer history — but no internal pipeline. Instead, it has focused all its efforts on creating LNPs for companies, academic institutes and other organizations. BioNTech, Alnylam and Beam are among the prominent names on its partner roster.

In fact, Bayer and Acuitas had an indirect connection via CureVac, which utilized Acuitas’ LNP in its Covid-19 vaccine candidates and received manufacturing help from Bayer.

This story was updated with comment from Jost Reinhard.

manufacturing
therapeutics
gene therapy
vaccines
crispr
gene editing
pharma