Nanite, Inc. today announced a $1.8M grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to design and optimize polymeric delivery vehicles to deliver DNA-encoded therapeutics.
Nanite’s proprietary SAYERTM platform combines AI-driven polymer design with multiplexed in vivo screening to develop best-in-class polymer nanoparticles [PNPs] for tissue-specific delivery. SAYER has demonstrated strong delivery efficiency and high tissue specificity, potentially overcoming limitations of viral vectors and lipid nanoparticles [LNPs]. In the research project funded by the foundation, Nanite will employ the SAYER platform to design and optimize polymeric delivery vehicles to deliver DNA-encoded therapeutics, thereby durably producing therapeutic antibodies in vivo. Success would represent a significant breakthrough in HIV management, particularly in populations with limited access to medical care.
“Nanite’s research, with support from the Gates Foundation, is consequential in discovering safe polymeric nanoparticles for a transformative treatment for HIV,” notes Nanite Chief Business Officer, Thomas X. Neenan, PhD. “One of our long-stated goals is to develop technologies that allow the benefits of gene therapy to be accessible to a wider patient population, particularly in underserved communities. Nanite is dedicated to accelerating the impact of genetic medicine for the treatment of HIV.”
