BMBF approves cluster for nuc­leic acid based thera­peut­ics in Munich

The Ger­man Fed­eral Min­istry of Edu­ca­tion and Research (BMBF) has selec­ted the win­ners of the second round of the Clusters4Future com­pet­i­tion. These include C-NAT^M, the cluster for the devel­op­ment of new nuc­leic acid based ther­apies in which ISAR Bioscience is involved. C-NAT^M is sup­por­ted by the two Munich uni­ver­sit­ies, the Helm­holtz Cen­ter for Health Research and numer­ous inter­na­tional and biotech com­pan­ies from the Munich area.

The goal of C-NAT^M is to invent novel thera­peut­ics based on DNA, RNA and smal­ler nuc­leic acids. One example is the new RNA-based Corona vac­cines - but these tech­no­lo­gies go far bey­ond and may open a new chapter in drug ther­apy. The reason for this is the high spe­cificity and “pro­gram­mab­il­ity” of nuc­leic acids.

A high-rank­ing com­mit­tee has now selec­ted the seven most prom­ising applic­a­tions from an ini­tial 117. Fed­eral Research Min­is­ter Stark-Watzinger states: “This is where prom­ising ideas and pion­eer­ing spirit come together to cour­ageously bring innov­at­ive research more quickly into eco­nomic and social application.”

“The suc­cess in the Future Clusters com­pet­i­tion shows that the Munich region is the right place to develop innov­at­ive ther­apies,” says Pro­fessor Martin Lohse, CEO of ISAR Bioscience. “We con­grat­u­late the coordin­at­ors, Pro­fess­ors Thomas Carell and Stefan Engel­hardt, and all those involved in this excel­lent effort, and we look for­ward to fur­ther collaborations.”

ISAR Bioscience, together with TU Munich and the start-up rnat­ics, is con­duct­ing research on oli­go­nuc­leotide-based strategies for the treat­ment of inflam­ma­tion and fibrosis. We are also work­ing on ways to deliver such nuc­leic acid-based thera­peut­ics to tar­get tis­sues - for example, with tar­geted tar­get­ing meth­ods or using lipid nan­o­particles, or LNPs.

C-NATM: https://www.clusters4future.de/die-zukunftscluster/die-zukunftscluster-der-zweiten-wettbewerbsrunde/cnatmhttps://www.clusters4future.de/die-zukunftscluster/die-zukunftscluster-der-zweiten-wettbewerbsrunde/cnatm
Tech­nical Uni­ver­sity of Munich: https://www.isarbioscience.de/technische-universitaet-muenchen/
rnat­ics: https://www.isarbioscience.de/rnatics/