StrideBio

StrideBio is a gene therapy company focused on developing genetic medicines for rare diseases and other conditions. The firm was founded in 2015 by Mavis Agbandje-McKenna, Ph.D., Aravind Asokan, Ph.D., and Arun Srivastava, Ph.D., leveraging their collective expertise in virology and gene therapy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Florida. The company's core technology revolves around its proprietary structure-inspired adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector engineering platform, named STRIVE™. This platform enables the creation of differentiated AAV capsids with improved characteristics, such as the ability to evade pre-existing neutralizing antibodies, enhanced tissue-specific targeting, and increased potency.

The business model is centered on advancing its internal pipeline of product candidates while also engaging in strategic partnerships. StrideBio collaborates with other biopharmaceutical companies to develop gene therapies for various diseases, leveraging its capsid engineering technology. For example, it had a collaboration with Sarepta Therapeutics focused on Duchenne muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular diseases, which concluded with Sarepta acquiring a selection of StrideBio's AAV capsid programs. The company operates from a 24,000-square-foot facility in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, which includes research labs and in-house manufacturing capabilities, allowing for integrated development from concept to production. In 2023, StrideBio announced its lead clinical candidate, STR-001, for the treatment of Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy (ACM) caused by mutations in the PKP2 gene.

Keywords: gene therapy, AAV vectors, rare diseases, genetic medicines, capsid engineering, Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy, STRIVE platform, vector engineering, biotechnology, preclinical development