Key points from article :
Can one control gene expression but not create massive nucleic acid sequence changes?
Omega Therapeutics found an answer in a seminal paper published by Rick Young’s group at the Whitehead Institute.
Genes and their regulatory elements generally reside in loops closed off by a pair of CTCF proteins - insulated genomic domains (IGDs).
Its pitch was to create a controlled epigenetic programming platform for the control room of human biology.
Flagship Labs incubator helped raise $85 million financing from as yet unnamed investors.
Have five programs lined up in cancer, inflammation, autoimmune, metabolic & rare genetic diseases.
Cambridge, MA-based team expects to start its first clinical trial in 2021.
Leveraging mRNA & LNP as delivery vehicles also lends itself to modular design.
These easily-degraded proteins used by the human body to tune genes up or down should minimise hurdles on the safety front.
Cycle time of concept to initial testing to development-ready composition has shortened dramatically.
