U19NS132303

Correction of Neurological Disease via Allele Specific Excision of Pathogenic Repeats - Project Summary / Abstract

A central promise of genome editing is its potential to treat monogenic disease. Despite early-stage clinical progress for CRISPR-Cas based approaches, monogenic neurodegenerative conditions and nucleotide triplet expansion disorders have not been a focus of any biotechnology company in this space.

Our proposal brings together a team of academic investigators to develop a synergistic suite of first-in-class CRISPR-Cas based therapeutics for Huntington's Disease (HD) and C9ORF72 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). We will engineer and deploy an editing approach that excises, with IND-grade potency and mutant allele-selectivity, the disease-causing expansion repeat from human HTT and C9ORF72 loci, respectively.

Our strategy is based on identifying alleles of commonly heterozygous SNPs that reside on the same haplotype as the disease-causing repeat expansion, and then engineering CRISPR-Cas9 for high selectivity of cleavage, on one or both sides of the mutant allele repeat, to drive its excision, with two tiers of delivery innovation.

Our trailblazer project (Research Project 1, RP1) will develop an HD therapeutic by packaging mutant HTT-specific CRISPR-Cas9 into a newly developed serotype of adeno-associated virus (AAV) with robust and broad biodistribution in the brain parenchyma of nonhuman primates (NHP). We will implement an innovative strategy in which the CRISPR-Cas9 cassette temporally limits its own expression.

We will identify and advance the preclinical lead composition through IND-enabling studies leveraging 3 dedicated resource cores to (I) assess molecular outcomes at the genetic level, (II) administer reagents to animals and observe their behavior, and (III) assess molecular and histological outcomes from cells and animal tissues. An administrative core led by experienced developers of genome editing-based therapeutics will provide project-management support and lead on preparation of regulatory submissions, aiming to file an HD IND by program end.

In RP2, we will apply the AAV-based excision approach to build a cognate experimental therapeutic for C9ORF72-driven ALS. Synergies with RP1 include CMC innovation to manufacture novel AAV, re-use of the self-regulating CRISPR-Cas cassette and virus harboring it, and regulatory feedback on IND-enabling pharmacology, toxicology, and biodistribution studies. We will advance RP2 through pre-IND.

For RP3, we will establish a first-in-class, transformative paradigm for in vivo genome editing therapy by reformulating the preclinical lead CRISPR-Cas9 combination used in RP1 into a highly innovative "Cas9 RNP monoparticle" in which amphiphilic peptides deliver the gene editor to neurons upon injection. We will develop approaches for monoparticle manufacture to enable ex vivo and in vivo efficacy studies in HD models. Extensive synergies with RP1 project and comprehensive support by the RCS will enable us to advance this approach to pre-IND by program end.

The sum total of this effort will establish a fundamentally new paradigm for in vivo genome editing applicable to all nucleotide repeat expansion disorders, and advance preclinical lead formulations for one disease, HD, to IND, and another such disease, C9ORF ALS, to pre-IND.

Regents Of The University Of California

(1) TO SUPPORT EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE (NINDS) INCLUDING: BASIC RESEARCH THAT EXPLORES THE FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE BRAIN AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND THE CAUSES AND ORIGINS OF PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM WITH THE GOAL OF PREVENTING THESE DISORDERS, RESEARCH ON THE NATURAL COURSE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS, IMPROVED METHODS OF DISEASE PREVENTION, NEW METHODS OF DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT, DRUG DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT OF NEURAL DEVICES, CLINICAL TRIALS, AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE. THE INSTITUTE IS THE LARGEST FUNDER OF BASIC NEUROSCIENCE IN THE US AND SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON TOPICS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, INCLUDING NEUROGENESIS AND PROGENITOR CELL BIOLOGY, SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION IN DEVELOPMENT AND PLASTICITY, AND PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH, SYNAPSE FORMATION, FUNCTION, AND PLASTICITY, LEARNING AND MEMORY, CHANNELS, TRANSPORTERS, AND PUMPS, CIRCUIT FORMATION AND MODULATION, BEHAVIORAL AND COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE, SENSORIMOTOR LEARNING, INTEGRATION AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, NEUROENDOCRINE SYSTEMS, SLEEP AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS, AND SENSORY AND MOTOR SYSTEMS. IN ADDITION, THE INSTITUTE SUPPORTS BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES ON A NUMBER OF DISORDERS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM INCLUDING (BUT NOT LIMITED TO): STROKE, TRAUMATIC INJURY TO THE BRAIN, SPINAL CORD AND PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS, MOVEMENT DISORDERS, BRAIN TUMORS, CONVULSIVE DISORDERS, INFECTIOUS DISORDERS OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM, IMMUNE DISORDERS OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM, INCLUDING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, DISORDERS RELATED TO SLEEP, AND PAIN. PROGRAMMATIC AREAS, WHICH ARE PRIMARILY SUPPORTED BY THE DIVISION OF NEUROSCIENCE, ARE ALSO SUPPORTED BY THE DIVISION OF EXTRAMURAL ACTIVITIES, THE DIVISION OF TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH, THE DIVISION OF CLINICAL RESEARCH, THE OFFICE OF TRAINING AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, THE OFFICE OF PROGRAMS TO ENHANCE NEUROSCIENCE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND THE OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES. (2) TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. TO UTILIZE THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM, TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

93.310 - Trans-NIH Research Support

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NNDS) [HHS - NIH]

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [HHS - NIH]

Berkeley, California 947101754 United States

Single Zip Code

IND-enabling Studies of Somatic Genome Editing Therapeutic Leads (U19, Clinical Trial Not allowed) (RFA-RM-22-015)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 193% from $4,683,536 to $13,703,967.