Gene Weaver Ltd (Gene Weaver), a biology technology innovator, has received $515,214 from the Gates Foundation to support the development of a next generation gene insertion tool. The grant will support work on Gene Weaver’s gene editing platform, and its potential to enable a low-cost option for protein therapeutics in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Cambridge-based Gene Weaver will explore the activity of their novel programmable gene insertion technology in mammalian cells. This work will extend their existing breakthrough in engineering efficient targeted large sequence DNA insertion to ready the novel proprietary platform for use in the next generation of gene therapy applications.

The Gene Weaver™ Technology Platform is a programmable system for controlled cutting and precision insertion of large payloads. The company has been able to exploit the characteristics of a naturally occurring gene delivery tool to create a fully controllable technology platform that has the flexibility to support a broad range of permanent nucleic acid edits, including large strand insertions.

With this disruptive technology, Gene Weaver is addressing the challenges facing the first generation of editing tools used to create the current genetic medicine pipelines across the industry. These challenges include variable site integration, limited size of base pair edits, and low efficiency of manufacture, all of which limit the scope and applicability of these transformative therapeutics, especially in LMICs.