Sapreme Technologies, an Utrecht, the Netherlands-based biotech company developing a technology platform to enable the cytosolic delivery of macromolecule therapeutics, has been awarded a 6.8 M€ grant together with a multidisciplinary consortium including 11 other academic and industrial parties.
The grant was provided by the European Union (EU) through Horizon 2020 to develop a non-viral based gene therapy using Sapreme’s proprietary endosomal escape enhancers.
The ENDOSCAPE consortium consists of public and private organizations with complimentary expertise in biotechnology, chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, metabolic engineering, phytochemistry, health-economics and project management.
Founded in 2016 by Aglaia Oncology Fund II, Sapreme develops new technologies within the field of macromolecule therapeutics such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and oligonucleotide-based therapeutics for treatment of cancer and other diseases. Endolysosomal trapping is a major hurdle in drug target engagement for oligonucleotide-based therapeutics and a number of ADCs. The company develops a proprietary technology which improves escape of macromolecule therapeutics from endolysosomes (ENDOSCAPE®).
The technology is based on intellectual property originating from the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin, which discovered a class of non-immunogenic saponins.
These glycosylated triterpenoids can selectively permeabilize endo-lysosomal membranes to enhance endosomal escape of trapped cargo without affecting plasma membrane integrity in a pH-dependent manner.
FinSMEs
20/02/2019