Nanoscope Therapeutics is looking to accelerate the development of its therapies that are aimed at helping restore sight in patients with the help of a publicly traded firm.
The Dallas-based, retinal degenerative diseases-focused biotech company announced a new gene therapy manufacturing partnership with contract research organization Charles River Laboratories International.
“We’re excited to continue to support Nanoscope Therapeutics’ efforts in the production of gene therapies that are focused on restoring vision for people suffering from retinal degenerative diseases with no known cure,” Kerstin Dolph, corporate senior VP of biologics solutions at Charles River, said in a statement. “Their work is incredibly important to patients, and we look forward to continuing to serve as a partner.”
‘We have high expectations’
Anil Lalwani
Through the partnership, Charles River will manufacture plasmid DNA and viral vectors for Nanoscope Therapeutics’ late-phase clinical trials. The deal will also allow Nanoscope Therapeutics to leverage the NYSE-traded firm’s manufacturing platforms and services.
Founded in 1947, Massachusetts-based Charles River says it has more than 110 facilities across more than 20 countries. Last year, the more than 20,000-person company generated around $3.5 billion in revenue and says it supported the development of 86% of novel FDA-approved drugs.
“We have high expectations for our program and are counting on Charles River leadership, resources, and scale to deliver in this partnership,” Anil Lalwani, VP of chemistry, manufacturing, and control at Nanoscope Therapeutics, said in a statement.
Nanoscope Therapeutics drug receives FDA Fast Track Designation
The announcement comes a little more than a week after Nanoscope Therapeutics announced landing a Fast Track Designation from the FDA for its MCO-010 therapy, which helps restore vision in patients with retinitis pigmentosa and Stargardt disease through a single injection.
Samarendra Mohanty
The therapy is currently under evaluation in two different clinical trials. It works by reprogramming bipolar cells to act like photoreceptor cells damaged by the full range of inherited retinal disorders, regardless of any underlying disease-causing gene mutations.
Nanoscope Therapeutics was launched in 2009 by President and Chief Scientific Officer Samarendra Mohanty. With around $13 million in funding from a Series A round in 2020 and from grants from places like the National Institutes of Health and the National Eye Institute, Nanoscope Therapeutics relocated its headquarters from Bedford to Dallas’ Trinity Towers—a move the company said would help accommodate its growing team and development efforts.
Nanoscope Therapeutics, a TechFW client and spinout of Nanoscope Technologies, told Dallas Innovates earlier this year that it’s “open-minded” about potentially taking the company public in the near future, with CFO Anthony Togba saying that it is “performing readiness activities, undertaking internal processes, and putting in place the structures” for a potential IPO.
“There is no treatment for the diseases that we’re working on,” Mohanty previously told Dallas Innovates. “So, there’s a real unmet need that we are trying to fill.”
David Seeley and Alex Edwards contributed to this report.
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