DiNAQOR Acquires EHT Technologies GmbH to Advance Engineered Heart Tissue R&D Capabilities

PFÄFFIKON, Switzerland, Jan. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DiNAQOR, a gene therapy platform company, today announced that it has acquired EHT Technologies GmbH, a Germany-based engineered heart tissue (EHT) technology platform company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

EHT Technologies was founded in 2015 based upon research on human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Cardiomyocytes derived from hiPSC are an innovative research technology for cardiac drug development programs. Engineered heart tissues are three-dimensional, hydrogel-based muscle constructs that can be generated from isolated heart cells of chicken, rat, mouse, human embryonic stem cells and hiPSC. Proof-of-concept studies have shown that EHT can be transduced efficiently with adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, including AAV9, validating the use of this platform for gene therapy applications.

"EHT Technologies' proprietary hiPSC platform for disease modeling is a perfect complement to DiNAQOR's research and development efforts and leaps forward our ability to develop creative approaches for treating heart diseases in the future. EHT's intellectual property and know-how is industry-leading and we are excited to be able to harness its platform at DiNAQOR," commented Johannes Holzmeister, M.D., Chairman and CEO at DiNAQOR.

"After more than 25 years of development, I'm very excited that our engineered heart tissue technology is making the transition from an academic research model to a drug development tool. The combined application of human cardiomyocytes and a versatile, 3D in vitro assay will facilitate development and reduce reliance on animal studies. The hiPSC-derived EHT assay has great potential for the development of innovative cardiovascular therapeutics and DiNAQOR is the perfect fit for this enterprise," commented Professor Thomas Eschenhagen, M.D., co-founder of EHT Technologies. Professor Eschenhagen serves on DiNAQOR's Scientific Advisory Board.

"The EHT technology will accelerate the advancement of our discovery pipeline and bridge the translational gap between the animal model and human disease. We are proud that DiNAQOR is on the forefront of implementing this innovative technology to expedite new therapies into the clinic," said Valeria Ricotti, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at DiNAQOR.

About DiNAQOR
Founded in 2019, DiNAQOR is a global gene therapy platform company focused on advancing novel solutions for patients suffering from heart disease. The company is headquartered in Pfäffikon, Switzerland, with additional presence in London, England and Hamburg, Germany. For more information visit www.dinaqor.com.

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