Spinout company focuses on inhaled gene therapy 

Newly formed company develops novel platform for treatment of respiratory diseases. 

A spinout company involving Roslin institute expertise has been launched to focus on transforming rare respiratory disease outcomes using inhaled gene therapy. 

AlveoGene has been developed by experts from the University of Edinburgh, including at Roslin, along with the University of Oxford and Imperial College London.  

The organisation is founded on research undertaken by scientists from the world-renowned UK Respiratory Gene Therapy Consortium (GTC), which was founded in 2001 by the three universities. 

The consortium was formed to catalyse the application of pioneering research to gene therapy development and manufacturing, related to cystic fibrosis and other respiratory diseases. 

Inhalation therapy 

The newly formed company has secured an exclusive licence to a drug delivery platform, known as InGenuiTy™, developed by the GTC for the treatment of respiratory diseases. 

Gene therapies developed using this proprietary, validated next-generation modified virus delivery platform can be delivered repeatedly through a nebuliser, for long-lasting effects. 

The platform has been developed over more than a decade, supported by approximately £72 million in grant funding, including from the Wellcome Trust, UK Medical Research Council and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.  

The GTC has demonstrated key characteristics of the platform, including a scalable manufacturing process, which will allow its rapid translation through to first-in-human trials.  

This foundation will now enable AlveoGene to fast-track the development of its first candidate AVG-001, a novel, inhaled gene therapy to treat patients with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD).  

AlveoGene is aiming to progress this candidate towards clinical development over the next two to three years.  

Wide application 

It will also evaluate the potential of the InGenuiTy™ platform alongside other technologies to create a pipeline of novel inhaled gene therapies targeting other rare respiratory disease opportunities, such as lung surfactant deficiencies and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. 

Seed funding for the spinout was raised from Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals (Harrington), and Old College Capital (OCC), the University of Edinburgh’s venture investment fund. 

This new chapter in our long-standing collaboration with colleagues from Imperial College and Oxford University adds a welcome boost to our existing translational research programme.

We look forward to contributing to this exciting joint venture in gene therapy which aims to ease the burden of those with respiratory diseases.

I am truly excited to lead this new venture. The combination of pioneering science, an extensively validated platform, access to world-leading expertise through our founding scientists and the backing of OSE, Harrington and OCC provides a fantastic foundation for the company.

We are delighted to have participated in AlveoGene’s seed funding round. The launch is a great example of how collaboration between a range of stakeholders can create the opportunity to tackle complex diseases and ultimately impact patient lives.

** The Roslin Institute receives strategic investment funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and it is part of the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. **

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