AlveoGene

AlveoGene is a biotechnology company developing inhaled gene therapies for rare respiratory diseases. The company was founded in September 2023 as a spin-out from the UK Respiratory Gene Therapy Consortium (GTC), a long-standing collaboration between Imperial College London and the Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh. The GTC, established in 2001, has focused on translating gene therapy research for respiratory diseases, particularly cystic fibrosis. AlveoGene was created through a partnership between six leading GTC scientists and a seed funding round from Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals, and Old College Capital (OCC), the University of Edinburgh's venture fund. It is also the first company advanced by the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre Therapeutics Accelerator.

The company is led by Executive Chair David Hipkiss, a biopharmaceutical executive with over 25 years of experience in the respiratory field, including co-founding Prosonix, which was acquired by Circassia for £100 million in 2015. The scientific founders from the GTC include Professor Eric Alton, Professor Uta Griesenbach, Professor Deborah Gill, Professor Stephen Hyde, Dr. Chris Boyd, and Dr. Gerry McLachlan.

AlveoGene's business model centers on its proprietary InGenuiTy™ platform, a next-generation lentiviral vector designed for direct delivery to the lungs via a nebulizer. This technology, developed by the GTC over a decade with approximately £72 million in grant funding, allows for high-efficiency transduction of lung epithelial cells and is designed for long-lasting effects and repeat administration. AlveoGene holds an exclusive license to the InGenuiTy™ platform for all respiratory diseases except for applications involving the CFTR gene (related to cystic fibrosis), which has been licensed to Boehringer Ingelheim.

The company's initial focus is on developing AVG-001, an inhaled gene therapy for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD), a genetic disorder that can cause severe lung disease. AlveoGene is also advancing a pipeline that includes AVG-002 for the fatal neonatal Surfactant Protein B (SP-B) deficiency and AVG-003 for ABCA-3 deficiency. The FDA has granted both Rare Pediatric Disease Designation and Orphan Drug Designation to AVG-002.

Keywords: inhaled gene therapy, lentiviral vector, rare respiratory diseases, Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, AATD, Surfactant Protein B deficiency, InGenuiTy platform, nebulizer, lung epithelial cells, genetic medicine, biopharmaceutical, UK Respiratory Gene Therapy Consortium, GTC, Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre, AVG-001, AVG-002, orphan drug, pediatric disease, lentivirus, gene delivery