{"id":93807,"date":"2023-08-25T12:12:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T10:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.munich-startup.net\/?p=93807"},"modified":"2023-08-24T14:43:30","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T12:43:30","slug":"vigeneron-phase-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.munich-startup.net\/en\/93807\/vigeneron-phase-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Gene therapy startup Vigeneron begins phase I clinical trial"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Retinitis pigmentosa is one of the most common forms of hereditary retinal degeneration. The disease typically begins with night blindness, followed by a decline in vision and a gradual restriction of the visual field. It usually ends in blindness. Retinitis pigmentosa affects approximately 1 in 4,000 Europeans. Researchers have now identified over 80 different genes as the triggers for this currently incurable disease. With its active ingredient VG901, Vigeneron focuses on a mutation in the CNGA1 gene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vigeneron has already demonstrated the substance's efficacy in preclinical studies on mice. Subsequently, the safety of VG901 was investigated. Now the startup<\/a> \u2013 after approval by the European Medicines Agency \u2013 Phase I<\/a> The clinical trial is a phase in which volunteers are used to determine whether the drug poses no relevant safety issues and can reach the target area in the body and remain there long enough to exert its effect. Furthermore, the new drug is intended to provide preliminary evidence of its therapeutic value during this phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vigeneron relies on its own developed gene therapy platform<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The active ingredient VG901 is based on the gene therapy platform vgAAV, which Vigeneron developed in-house. This is the result of directed in vivo evolution of adeno-associated viruses (AAVs). These viruses are popular in gene therapy for delivering genetic material into target cells (viral vectors). AAVs appear particularly suitable because they are not associated with disease and the virus's genetic material rarely integrates nonspecifically into the host cell's genome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to these properties, vgAAV vectors can target a broad spectrum of cell types in the retina. What's unique about this approach is that the drug can be administered intravitreally. This means it is injected into the vitreous humor of the eye. Other potential drugs for treating retinitis pigmentosa, however, must be administered subretinally, directly beneath the retina. However, according to Vigeneron, vgAAV can also be used for applications outside of ophthalmology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Caroline Man Xu<\/strong>, co-founder and CEO of Vigeneron, says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

"This is an important step in our mission to save the sight of patients born with CNGA1 mutations with a novel gene therapy. We look forward to developing this first-of-its-kind gene therapy to provide a cure for patients who currently have no treatment options."<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Vigeneron was founded in 2017 as a spin-off from the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich by Caroline Man Xu. Dr. Martin Biel, Professor of Pharmacy and Chair of the Department of Pharmacy at LMU, and Dr. Stylianos Michalakis, Professor of Ocular Gene Therapy at LMU, are also scientific co-founders. Investors in the startup include the Chinese pharmaceutical company WuXi Apptec and Sequoia Capital China. Vigeneron is currently IZB<\/a> based in Planegg.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The hereditary disease retinitis pigmentosa is one of the most common causes of vision loss in middle adulthood. Previously incurable, gene therapies now offer promising treatment options. The Munich-based startup Vigeneron is developing such a therapy and is now entering Phase I clinical trials.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":93808,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5635],"tags":[4941,4321,1499,4940],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGentherapie-Startup Vigeneron beginnt Phase I der klinischen Pr\u00fcfung - Munich Startup<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Das M\u00fcnchner Startup Vigeneron entwickelt eine Therapie gegen die Erbkrankheit Retinitis pigmentosa und beginnt Phase I der klinischen Pr\u00fcfung.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cms.munich-startup.net\/en\/93807\/vigeneron-phase-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gentherapie-Startup Vigeneron beginnt Phase I der klinischen Pr\u00fcfung - 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