Jenna Hoersten represented the Buchholz Lab at the 26th ASGCT Annual Meeting in Los Angeles
The American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy’s (ASGCT) Annual Meeting is considered the premier event for professionals in gene and cell therapy.
Our PhD student Jenna participated at this year's ASGCT Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.
The abstract titled “Enhancing the precision of designer site-specific recombinases: Methods for surveying sequence specificity and mitigating potential off-target effects” was presented during the first poster session on May 17th.
All abstracts are published in Molecular Therapy (DOI).
New publication on tyrosine-type site-specific recombinases
Our new paper “Discovery and characterization of novel Cre-type tyrosine site-specific recombinases for advanced genome engineering” in collaboration with DKMS Life Science Lab has just been published at Nucleic Acids Research. Check it out:
https://academic.oup.com/nar/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nar/gkad366/7157522?login=false
Congratulations to everyone involved: Milica Jelicic, Lukas Theo Schmitt, Maciej Paszkowski-Rogacz, Angelika Walder, Nadja Schubert, Jenna Hoersten, Duran Sürün, and Frank Buchholz!
Frank Buchholz participating in open discussion on genetic research
Is there a gene for a bigger and more efficient brain? Can genome surgery soon free us from all diseases? Do my genes determine my character?
During audience discussions, experts exchange views on these and other questions in a relaxed atmosphere. Frank Buchholz will be one of the experts.
On 26 April 2023 | 6-8:30 PM
At Deutsches Hygienemuseum Dresden (free admission)
The DRESDEN-concept event series "Reden wir über..." introduces researchers to a public audience and fosters exchange about science and life.
Please click here to learn more about the event.
The TU Dresden Spin-off Seamless Therapeutics Launches with $12.5M Seed Financing to Advance Transformative Gene Editing Platform Based on Programmable Precision Designer Recombinases in Dresden
Seed round co-led by Wellington Partners and Forbion, with additional non-dilutive financial support from the BMBF (GO-Bio funding) enables maturation of the proprietary platform and pipeline towards first clinical evaluation
Seamless Therapeutics, a Dresden based start-up of the Technische Universität Dresden, today announced a $12.5 million (€11.8M) seed financing round which will accelerate further development of its designer recombinases, a novel gene editing platform to transform the treatment of severe diseases. Seamless Therapeutics was founded based on the visionary discoveries from its scientific founders, Prof. Dr. Frank Buchholz, Dean of Research at the Faculty of Medicine and Head of Medical Systems Biology at the University Cancer Center of the Technische Universität Dresden, and his former PhD student Felix Lansing, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Seamless Therapeutics. Both are pioneers in the field of reprogrammable recombinases. Felix Lansing, PhD, will now be responsible for the further development of the company’s proprietary technology.
The company’s pioneering recombinase platform is able to program a widely used and established molecular biology tool to unlock the full potential of gene editing enabling the targeting of any site within the genome. The seed round was co-led by Wellington Partners and Forbion and includes non-dilutive financing from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF GO-Bio,-8B funding), a prestigious German government initiative supporting the most innovative startups in life sciences in Germany. Representatives from both Wellington and Forbion will join the company’s newly formed board of directors. The proceeds from the round will be used to further advance the company’s proprietary technology platform to build a pipeline of therapeutic candidates towards first-in-human readiness as well as to expand the company’s presence in the EU & US.
"I am very happy that our innovative and promising technology can now be transferred from basic research to a potential broad therapeutic application. The financial support provided by the BMBF and the investors will make a major contribution in this regard to advancing the development of this genome editing tool swiftly and purposefully," said Prof. Dr. Frank Buchholz.
“Our modular platform has succeeded in reprogramming site-specific recombinases to any given target sequence effectively breaking the existing hurdles of leveraging this potential best-in-class gene editing system to treat human disease,” commented Felix Lansing, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Seamless Therapeutics. “I look forward to working with our founding investors and our highly skilled team to apply our deep knowledge of recombinases to develop a pipeline of novel treatments.”
“Our goal is to apply our deep understanding of recombinases to leverage their inherent benefits to repair genetic alterations that cause disease. We believe our pioneering technology will allow us to shatter the boundaries that exist in gene editing methods today,” said Anne-K. Heninger, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Seamless Therapeutics. “Both Wellington and Forbion are visionaries and highly experienced biotech investors, and we look forward to working closely with them in our efforts to transform the gene editing landscape.”
“We have entered a new era in drug discovery based on the promise of how precision gene editing can change the way we treat disease in the future. Seamless Therapeutics has a first-mover position with its innovative platform capable of modifying the long held standard recombination technology into a universal gene editing tool with unprecedented specificity. We are excited to support Seamless Therapeutics in its pursuit of taking a leadership position in the rapidly evolving gene editing arena,” added Karl Nägler, PhD, Managing Partner at Wellington Partners.
“At Forbion our philosophy is to seek out pioneering technologies early in their development and to enable founding teams to harness the true potential of their innovation. The team has developed a powerful new platform that has overcome key limitations of existing gene editing tools, such as CRISPR, prime & base editors,” said Dmitrij Hristodorov, PhD, Partner at Forbion.
Seamless Therapeutics' platform has succeeded in reprogramming site specific recombinases to any given target sequence and make a range of specific changes including inversion, excision, exchange, and insertion from small to larger DNA fragments. Recombinases are a class of enzymes that have been widely used in scientific research for decades to precisely modify the genome of model organisms but until now could not be applied as a therapeutic due to their limited programmability to act on new target sites.
About Seamless Therapeutics
Seamless Therapeutics is changing the paradigm of gene editing through a pioneering approach to restore health in patients with severe conditions in a safe and precise manner. Our technology platform unlocks the reprogramming of recombinases, a highly versatile class of enzymes. We are applying our proprietary know-how to develop a pipeline of disease-modifying product candidates across a broad spectrum of indications to expand the therapeutic potential of gene editing.
About Wellington Partners
Wellington Partners is a leading European venture capital firm investing in the most promising early- and growth stage life science companies in the fields of biotechnology, therapeutics, medical technology, diagnostics and digital health. With funds totaling more than €1.2 billion, thereof €590 million committed to life sciences, Wellington Partners has been actively supporting world class private companies translating true innovation into successful businesses with exceptional growth. To date, Wellington Partners has invested in 56 innovative life science companies, including Actelion (acquired by J&J), Definiens (acquired by AZ), Immatics (Nasdaq: IMTX). invendo (acquired by Ambu), MTM Laboratories (acquired by Roche/Ventana), Oxford Immunotec (acquired by PerkinElmer), Rigontec (acquired by MSD), Symetis (acquired by Boston Scientific), and Themis (acquired by MSD).
About Forbion
Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the (bio) pharmaceutical space. Forbion manages well over EUR 2.3 billion across multiple fund strategies that cover all stages of (bio-) pharmaceutical drug development. Forbion’s current team consists of over 30 life sciences investment professionals that have built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with investments in 95 companies. Besides financial objectives, Forbion selects investments that will positively affect the health and well-being of patients. The firm is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Forbion operates a joint venture with BioGeneration Ventures (BGV), the manager of seed and early-stage funds, especially focused on Benelux and Germany.
About BMBF GO-Bio
The BMBF funding initiative GO-Bio supports life science researchers with innovative ideas who are looking to go into business. It provides excellent conditions from an early project stage on for a successful switch from the lab to the economy.
Stephan Wiegand
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit & Marketing
Medizinische Fakultät Carl Gustav Carus der Technischen Universität Dresden
Dekanat Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und Marketing
E-Mail: stephan.wiegand@uniklinikum-dresden.de
Internet: http://tu-dresden.de/med/
Frank Buchholz featured in DHMD podcast “You Ask We Explain”
A new episode of the podcast series “You Ask We Explain” by Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden (DHMD) features Prof. Dr. Frank Buchholz.
Titled “It’s all a question of genes. The chance of limitless possibilities?” the episode discusses issues of genetic research and gene therapy. Frank was joined by co-panel experts Prof. Dr. Andreas Lob-Hüdepohl and Prof. Dr. Alexander Strobel.
For listening to the podcast (in German), please follow this link.
If you would like to find out more about the participants, please go here.
Dresden Excellence Award for Dr. Felix Lansing
Dr Felix Lansing has won the Science Award of the City of Dresden in the doctoral category and was honoured for his dissertation work “Wie neuartige Gen-Skalpelle die Gen-Therapie revolutionieren – Directed evolution of site-specific recombinases for precise genome editing and rearrangement”.
In his thesis work, Felix Lansing developed a new type of highly precise gene scalpels. These recombinase-based gene scalpels work very precisely and efficiently and can thus edit the genome much more accurately than CRISPR/Cas9 technology.
Within his dissertation, Dr. Lansing tested a first possible application in combating a severe form of haemophilia (haemophilia A). He proved that there is a chance of curing the world’s most common blood clotting disorder. Furthermore, Dr Lansing’s work has explored applications for curing other genetic diseases.
Press release of idw
Press release of the City of Dresden
Shady Sayed wins Young Investigator Award
Our postdoc Shady Sayed is one of the winners of the Young Investigator Award of the 21st International AEK Cancer Congress.
The Young Investigator Award in the amount of 500 EUR was awarded by the congress president Professor Martin Eilers at the Welcome Reception in Kassel on February 15.
Congratulations Shady!
Shady Sayed representing the Buchholz Lab at the 21st International AEK Cancer Congress in Kassel
Shady Sayed’s abstract has been selected as an abstract short talk at the 21st International AEK Cancer Congress in Kassel from February 15 to 17, 2023.
The abstract titled “Efficient Correction of Oncogenic KRAS and TP53 Mutations through CRISPR Base Editing” will be presented during Symposium 6: Small molecules II on February 16 at 3:15 pm.
Deutscher Studienpreis award ceremony for Felix Lansing in Berlin
For this groundbreaking contribution to finding treatment for more then 8,000 diseases that can be traced back to gene defect, Felix Lansing was awarded second place in the Deutscher Studienpreis of the Körber Foundation. The award ceremony took place in Berlin and the award was presented by the President of the German Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, on December 12, 2022.
Read the complete TUD news item here
Felix Lansing awarded Deutscher Studienpreis in Natural and Technical Sciences
Dr Felix Lansing has made a groundbreaking contribution to cell and gene therapy, for which he was awarded 2nd place in the Deutscher Studienpreis by the Körber Foundation. “In my dissertation,” outlines Dr Lansing, “I developed a new molecular scalpel for the treatment of haemophilia, which cuts precisely and at the same time repairs without errors.”
Dr Lansing’s work paves the way to be able to apply this technology broadly and enter a new era of genome surgery. In this context, the molecular biologist has co-founded the start-up RecTech GmbH, with which he “plans to advance the technology to treat genetic diseases and thus establish new, innovative therapeutic options for previously incurable diseases.”
The Deutscher Studienpreis jury was impressed by the planned application and emphasised the comprehensible presentation of this socially relevant topic. Dr. Lansing thus prevailed against 609 competitors. The award will be presented on 12 December 2022 by the President of the Bundestag and patron Bärbel Bas at the German Parliamentary Society in Berlin.
Congratulations Felix!