Strategic agreement will accelerate the manufacturing of fully human multispecific therapies for chronic retinal diseases with high unmet need using Asimov’s CHO Edge System
Boston, Massachusetts, and San Carlos, California, November 19, 2024 – Asimov, the synthetic biology company advancing the design and manufacture of therapeutics, today announced a licensing agreement for its CHO Edge System with RevOpsis Therapeutics (“RevOpsis”), a next-generation biopharmaceutical company spearheading innovation of multispecific biologics in ophthalmic therapies. This agreement follows a successful cell line development campaign with Asimov’s CHO Edge System for the lead RevOpsis asset, RO-104.
Under the terms of the agreement, RevOpsis will integrate the CHO Edge System in the development and commercialization of its first-in-class fully modular tri-specific biologic, RO-104, for the treatment of retinal vascular diseases. RO-104 is designed to address all three clinically validated dominant angiogenic pathways (VEGF-A, VEGF-C, Ang-2) implicated in retinal vascular disease progression, including neovascular AMD and diabetic macular edema. RevOpsis has made significant progress with clinical progression of RO-104 supporting the initiation of IND-enabling studies beginning in January 2025
The CHO Edge System incorporates a GMP-banked CHO-K1 glutamine synthetase (GS) knockout host – or alternatively a GS-Fut8 double knockout for producing afucosylated antibodies – along with a hyperactive transposase, a library of over one thousand characterized genetic parts for vector design, and advanced AI and biophysics models. The system reliably generates stable cell lines with high titer and exceptional product quality, enabling optimization of the expression vector and bioreactor processes across various biologics modalities.
Alec Nielsen, Asimov co-founder and CEO, said: “Asimov’s CHO Edge System continues to gain rapid adoption since its launch last year. We are delighted that RevOpsis is joining the growing set of partners that are putting their trust in our platform. CHO Edge will form the cornerstone of their bioproduction process for an impactful therapeutic that will serve unmet needs in a growing patient population. We look forward to supporting their biologic development as they progress through clinical trials.”
Ramanath Bhandari, RevOpsis co-founder and CEO, commented: “RevOpsis is committed to the rapid discovery and development of novel multispecific therapies utilizing our modular RevMod™ Platform that consists of fully-human libraries. Asimov’s CHO Edge System has exhibited great performance and will underpin the development and commercialization of our lead clinical asset RO-104 for the treatment of retinal vascular disease progression, including neovascular age-related macular degeneration.”
To learn more about the CHO Edge System, please visit Asimov’s webpage at https://www.asimov.com/cho
For further information please contact:
Asimov:
Chris Thorne
Asimov
Email: chris.thorne@asimov.com
Francesca Wallace
Zyme Communications:
Tel: +44 (0) 7506424870
Email: francesca.wallace@zymecommunications.com
RevOpsis:
Jessi Prentice
Director, Operations, RevOpsis
Email: jprentice@revopsis.com
Cassy Dump
Shine Communications
Email: press@revopsis.com
About Asimov
Asimov’s mission is to advance humanity’s ability to design living systems, enabling biotechnologies with outsized societal benefit. The company is developing a synthetic biology platform – from cells to software – to design and manufacture next-generation therapeutics, including biologics, cell/gene therapies, and RNA through a combination of products, services, and collaborations.
Founded by bioengineers from MIT and Boston University and headquartered in Boston, the company has raised over $200 million from top institutional investors including Andreessen Horowitz, CPP Investments, Horizons Ventures, and Fidelity Management & Research Company. For more information, visit www.asimov.com.
About RevOpsis Therapeutics
Founded in 2018, RevOpsis Therapeutics is a privately held, next-generation biopharmaceutical company spearheading innovation in ophthalmic therapies. Guided by a team of leading physicians, scientists, and business leaders, we are dedicated to leveraging our proprietary Rev-Mod Platform to develop and commercialize groundbreaking treatments for chronic multifactorial diseases. With a steadfast commitment to responsibly advancing patient care, we aim to usher in a new era of improved disease management and extended disease remission. For more information, please visit www.revopsis.com.
About RO-104
Leveraging the proprietary Rev-Mod platform, RO-104 is RevOpsis’ current lead candidate. Engineered as a first-in-class fully human modular tri-specific biologic designed to address all three clinically validated dominant angiogenic pathways (VEGF-A, VEGF-C, Ang-2) implicated in retinal vascular disease progression, including neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). RO-104 represents a significant innovative advancement in the treatment landscape for retinal vascular diseases. Backed by a significant body of preclinical evidence demonstrating intended efficacy and safety in established animal models, RO-104 heralds a transformative approach positioned to redefine the current standard of care for patients with nAMD.
About Rev-Mod Platform
The proprietary Rev-Mod Platform employs a modular 'plug-and-play' approach to streamline and expedite the efficient discovery and development of multispecific biologics targeting a wide spectrum of chronic, prevalent, large diseases, that are the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Our proprietary platform boasts a vast library of nearly 30 billion fully human antibody components in a structured phage display system, facilitating rapid identification and assembly of multispecific product candidates. With seamless compatibility, the Rev-Mod platform enables swift and efficient design of multispecific biologics to address unmet needs in major therapeutic areas including ophthalmology, oncology, and immune-mediated diseases.