New affordable service launched at NHC to accelerate gene therapy development

The National Horizons Centre at Teesside University has launched VecTUs, a new research-grade BioVector production service.

VecTUs has been created through the efforts of academic staff at the National Horizons Centre, the University’s national centre of excellence for bioscience and healthcare.

BioVectors are specially designed carriers used to deliver genetic material like DNA or RNA into cells.

They are important in gene therapy as they can be used to safely transport and deliver genetic material to fix or replace faulty genes in a person’s cells to treat or prevent diseases. Many of the academics involved in launching VecTUs have previously worked on developing gene therapies that are now in clinical testing.

By employing the same methodologies used with production scale up when moving towards clinical testing, VecTUs focuses on removing the need for re-optimisation of the gene therapy after early proof-of-concept studies.

This allows research institutions, pharmaceutical companies and start-ups working on gene therapy development to accelerate the translation of products to clinic, resulting in development cost savings and a reduction in time taken to benefit patients.

Using industrially informed expertise, VecTUs is working with clients, including other UK universities, to support their early-stage gene therapy development.

VecTUs aims to bridge the gap between bench and bedside by providing an affordable solution for gene therapy design, the grow-up of constructs to allow packaging into recombinant viral vectors, and the manufacture of research-grade viral vectors using suspension cells for initial proof-of-concept studies.

Professor Linda Popplewell, Professor of Genetic Medicine at the National Horizons Centre said: 'Utilising high-spec technical equipment and industry experts here at Teesside University, we are removing the need for re-optimisation of gene therapy vectors upon scale-up, whilst enabling cost-effective and clinically relevant proof-of-concept studies.

'This will accelerate gene therapy development for many whilst producing cost savings.'

Director of the National Horizons Centre, Professor Vikki Rand said: 'Launching VecTUs here at the National Horizons Centre is a fantastic addition to showcase our expertise and academic excellence.

'VecTUs will be providing an affordable solution for those working in the bioprocessing sector from academia and industry, specifically on gene therapy development where early-stage development is crucial to have proof-of-concept to push forward gene therapies into clinical testing.'

Visit below to fill in the enquiry form and to learn more about the VecTUs BioVector production process.

Alternatively, please contact NHC-Operations@tees.ac.uk if you would like to find out more about how VecTUs can meet your requirements to accelerate gene therapy development with research-grade BioVector production.

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• National Horizons Centre