20Med Therapeutics and Touchlight to collaborate on novel vaccine delivery platform project
Published: 18 April 2023
Enschede, The Netherlands, and Hampton, UK – April 18, 2023 – 20Med Therapeutics, a leader in non-viral delivery and development of gene therapies and vaccines, and Touchlight, a biotechnology company pioneering enzymatic DNA production to enable the genetic medicine revolution, today announced that both parties will collaborate on establishing a novel vaccination platform that combines Touchlight’s rapid enzymatic doggybone DNA platform with 20Med Therapeutics’ bioresponsive polymer nanoparticle technology.
“Today’s news further underscores the flexibility of our platform in delivering both a range of RNA or DNA-based therapeutic payloads that are sourced either through partnerships or are based on our proprietary activities. We are looking forward to collaborating with Touchlight on this promising project, which will strengthen both companies’ platforms and increase the body of evidence around our nanoparticle technology”
Michiel Lodder, Ph.D., CEO of 20Med Therapeutics.
“Our collaboration with 20Med Therapeutics has already delivered promising preclinical data showing the potential of nanoparticle-formulated doggybone DNA to produce strong neutralising antibodies and durable T cell responses following vaccine administration in nanoparticles. Both companies’ platforms offer distinct conceptual advantages in terms of speed, scalability, thermostability and avoiding the potentially harmful and cumbersome bacterial or viral process steps of traditional methods in the space. Touchlight, as part of its funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be able to further evaluate and determine the potential applicability of this technology combination. Successful demonstration of the doggybone DNA platform’s effectiveness in DNA vaccine and gene therapy applications has the potential to support the global availability of innovative medicines and to further the application of the doggybone DNA platform in enabling rapid pandemic response”
Helen Horton, Ph.D., Chief Research Officer of Touchlight
Named after its schematic structure, doggybone DNA (dbDNA™) is a minimal, linear, double-stranded and covalently closed DNA construct. dbDNA can encode long, complex, or unstable DNA sequences, eliminates bacterial sequences and has a strong expression profile.
20Med Therapeutics’ nanoparticles have been specifically designed for efficient intracellular delivery of oligonucleotide-based vaccines and therapeutics. The technology platform is based on 20Med’s proprietary bioresponsive polymeric nanoparticles which provide protection of fragile payloads during ad-ministration and circulation but allow for rapid bioresponsive release of that payload as soon as the particles enter the cytosol.
About Touchlight
Touchlight is an innovation-driven leading CDMO pioneering enzymatic GMP DNA production to enable the genetic medicine revolution. As pioneers, with an FDA Drug Master File accepted in 2022 followed in 2025 with the world’s first cell-free DNA GMP license, Touchlight’s enzymatic DNA technology is on the cutting edge of AAV, mRNA, DNA vaccine, and gene editing technology with its state-of-the-art facility recognised by ISPE’s Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) for Innovation.
With multiple client products already in the clinic, Touchlight’s evidence-based, synthetic DNA manufacturing solutions offer a scalable, sustainable alternative to plasmid DNA (pDNA) for all stages of pre-clinical, clinical and commercial development. The company and technology are built on the conviction that DNA is fundamental to the future of medicine. Traditional methods, based on bacterial fermentation, are slow, costly, and unable to meet the growing demands of genetic medicine due to limited scalability and speed. Founded in 2007, Touchlight’s team is inspired by breakthroughs in genetic medicine, recognising the urgent need for innovative DNA production techniques to support the future of genetic therapies.
For more information please contact:
Karen Fallen, Chief Executive Officer
Verna McErlane, Chief Commercial Officer
E: info@touchlight.com
T: +44 20 8481 9200
Get all the latest updates
No spam. Just interesting articles, and exclusive updates in your inbox every week.
