DNA Nanobots Inc., based in Powell OH, announced that they are the recipient of a grant from the National Institute of General Modern Science (NIGMS) of the National Health Institute (NIH) for $5 million. The grant is for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR).

Their approach differs from “traditional” gene therapy for multiple reasons. First, most gene therapy restricts the ability to re-dose. Second, many gene therapies carry the risk of immunogenicity, which is the ability to trigger an immune response. (This is a good thing in the case of vaccines, however  it is a problem in bio-therapeutic drugs due to the immune system attacking the drug and not the cells or parts of the cells which have the disease.) Third, most gene therapies utilize viral vectors, which restricts size limits on therapeutic payloads.

DNA Nanobots platform utilizes programmable DNA nanostructures and is origami-based. This is exactly as it sounds: long DNA sequences can be “folded” to fit into a smaller space. Larger or more complex genetic structures can be modified in this way to interact with different cell receptors or types of cells.

The CEO of DNA Nanobots Inc., James Lynch, said “Our platform represents a paradigm shift in how we approach gene therapy, offering unprecedented flexibility and safety by eliminating the constraints of viral vectors while maintaining therapeutic efficacy across diverse medical indications.”

This grant will enable DNA Nanobots to take non-viral gene therapy to a new level!

DNA Nanobots Website: https://dnananobots.com/