BEIJING and WALTHAM, Mass. – (November 7, 2022) – EdiGene, Inc., a global, clinical-stage company focused on translating its gene-editing technologies into transformative genetic medicines for patients with significant unmet medical needs, announced its subsidiary, EdiGene Biotechnology USA, has moved into a new Research & Development Center in Waltham, Mass. to advance proprietary LEAPER™ technology into transformative in vivo RNA editing therapies with an initial focus on ophthalmology and the central nervous system.
LEAPER™ (Leveraging endogenous ADAR for programmable editing of RNA) was developed in a lab at Peking University led by Professor Wensheng Wei, the Scientific Founder of EdiGene, and was first reported in Nature Biotechnology in 2019. In February 2022, Professor Wei’s lab published a research article in Nature Biotechnology on an upgraded version of LEAPER™ that shows significantly improved efficiency and fidelity of RNA editing in vitro and in vivo.
“Moving into our new R&D Center is a significant milestone for EdiGene. It marks our continued efforts to advance the development of and accelerate the translation of our exciting RNA editing technology at the global level,” said Dong Wei, Ph.D., CEO of EdiGene. “With a strong foundation in RNA editing and translational expertise, we are committed to developing genetic medicines to address the unmet medical needs for patients around the world.”
“We have been building on our R&D efforts in the greater Boston area with a growing team responsible for drug discovery and development, AAV process development, bioinformatics and clinical development for almost two years,” said Bo Zhang, Ph.D., Head of EdiGene’s U.S. subsidiary. “We are excited to move into our new site to accommodate our rapidly expanding workforce and laboratory operations. By leveraging our unique platform, our team of talented scientists and professionals are creating innovative therapies through internal R&D efforts and external partnerships.”
Earlier this year, EdiGene expanded its management team with the appointment of Syed Mahmood, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Mahmood is a physician-scientist with a proven track record of leadership and experience spanning more than 15 years in all facets of drug development, including translational medicine, clinical development, and medical affairs in the United States in global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Intensity Therapeutics, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Daiichi Sankyo and GE Healthcare.
“I am thrilled to join EdiGene because of the potential of its exciting technology portfolio and the critical development stage of the lead programs,” said Syed Mahmood M.D., Chief Medical Officer of EdiGene. “Our new R&D Center represents a new chapter for EdiGene. It was built not only to meet our current needs, but also to scale with our business as we continue to grow. We are at the cusp of advancing LEAPER™ lead candidates to the clinic in the near future and developing potential therapies for patients with serious unmet needs.”
In terms of LEAPER™-based in vivo RNA editing therapeutic development, its proof of concept in multiple in vitro and in vivo model systems was presented at the RNA Editing Summit and the annual TIDES USA Conference in 2022. EdiGene established a research collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison in November 2021.
Located in the Winter Street office park in the premier suburban Boston office market of Waltham, EdiGene’s 14,000 sq. ft. space holds state-of-the-art laboratories integrated with office space. The opening ceremony hosted representatives from patient advocacy groups, academic and research institutions, industry peers and partners, and investors who share our sense of urgency to meet the medical demand for innovative therapies.
About EdiGene, Inc.
EdiGene Inc. is a global, clinical-stage company focused on translating gene-editing technologies into transformative genetic medicines for patients with significant unmet medical needs. Anchored by its proprietary technologies of gene editing, bioinformatics, and high throughput genome-editing screening, EdiGene advances the pipeline on therapeutic platforms of LEAPER™-based in vivo RNA base editing, ex vivo gene-editing hematopoietic stem cells, and ex vivo gene-editing T cells for allogeneic CAR-T. Founded in 2015, EdiGene is headquartered in Beijing, with offices in Guangzhou and Shanghai, China, and Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. More information can be found at https://www.EdiGene.com.