BrickBio Spins Out EnCapsid: A Novel Gene Therapy Company that Creates Novel AAVs and Enables More Efficient, CRISPR Cas-9 Delivery

BOSTON, Jan. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BrickBio, backed by Tiger Gene, L.L.C., has spun out EnCapsid, a first-in-class gene therapy company focused on developing enhanced adeno-associated virus (AAV) delivery vectors using a technology that enables precise modification of all natural and engineered AAV capsids to enhance existing AAV capsids, as well as to create new classes of AAVs. These novel AAVs will expand the number of treatable diseases, increase the cargo-capacity of AAV, and enable a novel, significantly more efficient, CRISPR Cas-9 delivery vehicle.

EnCapsid's proprietary chemistries and strategy for AAV engineering provide a robust and flexible platform to conjugate any entity onto the capsid, such as small molecules, peptides, nucleotides, and proteins, including antibodies, etc., with unprecedented precision. The EnCapsid platform ensures selectivity of targeted delivery and cloaks the AAV against neutralizing antibodies, while maintaining the fragile structure of the capsid. 

"Despite its enormous potential, the scope of AAV-mediated gene therapy has been significantly limited by the shortcomings of the natural AAV serotypes, such as their lack of tissue specificity, susceptibility to the immune system, and limited cargo capacity," stated Abhishek Chatterjee, Professor of Chemistry at Boston College, and Co-Founder of EnCapsid. "The EnCapsid technology offers solutions to these longstanding challenges by enabling attachment of activity-modulating groups onto AAV. This is accomplished with a precise control over the site and the number of modifications, paving the way for first-in-class modified capsids with unique advantages."

"The EnCapsid platform combines the benefits of genetic and non-genetic approaches for engineering the AAV capsid to enable targeted delivery, protection against neutralizing antibodies, as well as the creation of novel AAVs with increased packing capacity." stated John Boyce, President, CEO, and Co-Founder of EnCapsid, as well as Co-Founder of Tiger Gene, L.L.C. "EnCapsid is poised to revolutionize both gene therapy as well as the promising field of gene editing." Boyce continued. "The company is looking forward to continuing discussions with leading pharmaceutical companies and world renowned financing partners." Boyce concluded.

About EnCapsid

A Boston-based gene therapy company using proprietary site-specific conjugation strategies to improve existing therapies for genetic diseases and to generate new treatments for previously untreatable diseases. The flexible platform site specifically incorporates unnatural amino acids at any site within the adeno-associated virus (AAV) to control target delivery, cloak the AAV against neutralizing antibodies, while maintaining the fragile structure and function of the capsid. The platform technology enables the bioconjugation of any entity onto the virus, including small molecules, peptides, nucleotides, and proteins, including antibodies, etc.

About Tiger Gene

Tiger Gene L.L.C., a Boston-based venture capital firm, co-founded with and funded by Tiger Management L.L.C., invests in early-stage technologies with high-growth trajectories across the life sciences sector. The fund's current portfolio focuses on technology platforms as well as technology derived products and assets across the genomics, proteomics, diagnostics, drug discovery and therapeutic markets.

CONTACT: Audrey Warner, [email protected]

SOURCE EnCapsid