Programmable gene silencing to transform advanced therapies

Laverock Therapeutics relocates to London's Kings Cross, within London Bioscience Innovation Centre

Stevenage, UK, 22 October 2024 - Laverock Therapeutics, a gene-silencing company with a uniquely powerful technology for the development of programmable advanced therapies to tackle major diseases, today announces it is to present new data on its innovative gene-silencing platform at the European Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ESGCT) Conference in Rome 22-25 October. Led by COO Tom Payne, Laverock’s team of scientists will be presenting three posters covering the Company’s technology platform and its application to CAR T cells and tumour microenvironment (TME) responsive macrophages for oncology. The data demonstrates the broad utility of the gene silencing technology for the development of differentiated therapeutic products. In contrast to other approaches, Laverock’s technology allows gene silencing that is programmable – linking silencing to cell identity or state; tunable – giving precise control of gene expression; stable – avoiding transient affects or epigenetic silencing; and specific – showing minimal loss or gain of function effects. It is also readily multiplexable, allowing targeting of multiple pathways in a single engineering step. Laverock’s product-focused posters demonstrate tunable, multiplex silencing of checkpoint pathways in primary T-cells, and use of phenotype-specific miRNA expression patterns to control macrophage function in response to TME cues. Tom Payne, COO of Laverock, said: “Over the last year we have generated a complete set of data in human cells demonstrating the unique features of our technology – namely its ability to silence genes in a programmable, tunable, stable and highly specific manner across a number of target genes and cell types. We believe this will enable the development of safer, targeted cell therapies by engineering human cells that exhibit gene silencing of the right genes, in the right cell, and at the right time.” Poster presentations: P: 0653. Klucnika, A et al Gene Editing induced Gene Silencing (GEiGS®) - A new technology to transform advanced therapies by programmable gene silencing. (Thursday 24.10.24 14:15 – 15:30). P: 0694. Houghton, B et al Programmable, multiplex CAR T cell engineered with Genome Editing induced Gene Silencing (GEiGs). (Thursday 24.10.24 18:00 – 19:30). P:0780. Menon, V et al Gene Editing induced Gene Silencing (GEiGS) technology to develop TME-responsive macrophages for solid tumour immunotherapy. (Thursday 24.10.24 18:00 – 19:30). ENDS For further information please contact: Laverock Therapeutics: E: contact@laverocktx.com Media Enquiries: Charles Consultants Sue Charles – Sue@charles-consultants.com +44 (0)7968 726585 Chris Gardner - Chris@CGComms.onmicrosoft.com +44 (0)7956 031077 About Laverock Therapeutics Laverock Therapeutics is a gene-silencing company with a uniquely powerful technology which harnesses the cell’s natural gene regulatory mechanisms to develop a new generation of programmable advanced therapies to tackle major diseases. Laverock’s truly innovative technology re-directs naturally occurring micro RNAs (miRNAs) to conditionally silence genes in a way which is programmable, tunable, stable and specific. This opens a path to more effective, safer and accessible advanced therapies. Laverock is applying its technology through its own pipeline – targeting oncology and genetic diseases – and through partnerships. Laverock has a highly experienced leadership team with proven track records in biotechnology, pharma and academia and an exceptionally strong Board. Laverock completed a £13.5m seed round in September 2023. Its high-calibre investors include Calculus Capital, Eli Lilly and Company, Mercia Ventures, Maven Capital Partners, Eos, UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund and Tekfen Ventures. For more information, please visit www.laverocktx.com and follow us on LinkedIn .