ARRDC1

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vesigen Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering development of a novel extracellular vesicle-mediated delivery platform, today announced new data supporting the therapeutic potential of ARRDC1 Mediated Microvesicles (ARMMs) as vehicles for intracellular delivery of macromolecules. Data will be shared in two virtual poster presentations at the 2021 International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) Annual Meeting occurring May 18-21. The presentations will highlight ARMMs payloading, purification and characterization, including demonstration of cellular uptake and intracellular cargo activity. These results illustrate the ability of Vesigen's proprietary platform to produce ARMMs in a scalable process and effectively deliver functional payloads. ISEV 2021 Annual Meeting Poster Presentations Title: Scalable Production of ARRDC1 Mediated Microvesicles (ARMMs) as Non-Viral Vehicles for the Delivery of Therapeutic Payloads Presenting Author: Kristin Luther, PhD, Senior Scientist Session: Separation and Concentration II Abstract Number: PS24.08 Title: High Payloading Efficiency and Functional Intracellular Delivery of Diverse Macromolecules Using ARRDC1 Mediated Microvesicles (ARMMs) Presenting Author: Joseph Nabhan, PhD, VP, Drug Discovery Session: EV-based Therapeutics & Delivery Vehicles Abstract Number: PS22.06 The poster presentations will highlight Vesigen's ability to 1) produce and purify engineered ARMMs in a scalable process, 2) augment payloading of ARMMs with cargo using our proprietary approach to ~300 molecules/vesicle, and 3) enrich ARMMs to 90% of the purified extracellular vesicle preparation. Data will also be presented on stability testing of ARMMs and on cellular uptake of a variety of payloads including functional delivery of a nuclear enzyme. "We look forward to sharing our team's data that support ARMMs as versatile intracellular delivery vehicles for a variety of cargo, such as effector proteins, transcription factors or enzymes," said Joseph Nabhan, PhD, VP of Drug Discovery at Vesigen Therapeutics. "Our team has demonstrated how to engineer cells to produce high levels of payloaded ARMMs, purify them at scale, and deliver biologically active payloads to the cytoplasm and nucleus of target cells, which represents a significant step forward in establishing this platform for non-viral delivery of therapeutic molecules." About Vesigen Therapeutics Vesigen Therapeutics is a biotechnology company advancing groundbreaking therapies directed to intracellular targets using a fusogenic extracellular vesicle delivery technology. Our patented technology, called ARMMs (ARRDC1 Mediated Microvesicles), is expanding the universe of druggable targets by enabling the delivery of a wide range of payloads, including RNAs (mRNA, shRNA, ribozymes), proteins (signaling proteins, enzymes, antibody fragments), and gene-editing complexes (Cas9/gRNA) directly into the cytoplasm of target cells. The team is committed to leveraging ARMMs technology to develop transformative medicines and address currently unmet medical needs. For additional information visit . About ARMMs ARMMs vesicles (ARRDC1-mediated microvesicles) are a class of fusogenic extracellular vesicles produced by cells to package and deliver communication signals between cells and tissues. The ARMMs cellular machinery is partially hijacked by many enveloped viruses, such as HIV and Ebola, to produce viruses which bud out of host cells and have specific targeting properties. ARMMs possess unique properties not found in other classes of extracellular vesicles (e.g. exosomes), making them better suited for delivering therapeutic agents. It has been demonstrated that a wide range of labile and difficult to deliver therapeutic agents, including RNAs (mRNA, shRNA, ribozymes), proteins (signaling proteins, enzymes, antibody fragments), and gene-editing complexes (Cas9/gRNA) can be packaged into ARMMs and functionally delivered intracellularly in vitro and in vivo. ARMMS vesicles were discovered and engineered into a drug delivery system in the lab of Quan Lu, PhD, Professor of Environmental Genetics and Physiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with support in particular from Harvard's Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator. Vesigen will advance the ARMMs platform to develop innovative medicines for patients through an exclusive license agreement with Harvard University. Vesigen Contact: Bridgette Chandhoke Head of Corporate Communications Email: info@vesigentx.com