Project Grant R43AI155018

This $500,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, under the Biological Sciences federal grant program (CFDA 47.074), will support research to develop an end-to-end continuous manufacturing process for cell therapies using robotics and microfluidic technologies. The Georgia Tech Research Corporation will receive funding to create a more integrated workflow based on microfluidic device-enabled genetic engineering, cell expansion, and...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant award under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program provides $305,000 to Cellecho, Inc. to develop a microchip-based technology that leverages sound waves and electric fields to manipulate cells and sequentially deliver customizable combinations of genetic materials. The goal is to make advanced cell engineering more accessible and streamlined, accelerating discoveries in cell and gene therapy, biotechnology,...

This $295,924 Project Grant awarded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) aims to develop and demonstrate a high-yield microfluidic device for the enrichment and capture of CD3+ T cells. This device is intended to improve the manufacturing of autologous and allogenic engineered cell therapies such as CAR-T, which currently have time-consuming and costly production processes. The key objectives are to (1)...

This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) provides $275,000 to Dcan Biosciences LLC to develop an advanced microfluidic system for cancer diagnosis and monitoring. The system aims to isolate and assess circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and CTC clusters (CTCCs) from patient blood samples to enable highly sensitive and accurate liquid biopsies. Key objectives include designing a hybrid microfluidic device for...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) provides $275,000 to Targeting Systems to develop a novel intramuscular gene delivery platform capable of sustained expression and endogenous secretion of bispecific natural killer cell engager (BIKE) therapeutics to treat solid tumors like hepatocellular carcinoma. The platform aims to deliver BIKEs in a less invasive manner than current immunotherapies,...

This $902,504 cooperative agreement from the National Science Foundation Division of Industrial Innovation under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports the development of a scalable downstream purification process for gene therapy vectors by Isolere Bio, Inc. of Durham, North Carolina. The non-chromatographic method seeks to address current inefficiencies that lead to single digit yields by utilizing a polypeptide-based reagent combining affinity capture with phase separation and...

This Project Grant award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of the Director under the Trans-NIH Research Support program (CFDA 93.310) provides $487,499 to the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research to develop new strategies for highly efficient production of cell-derived bioparticles as delivery vehicles for macromolecular therapeutics. The research aims to identify and manipulate genes in bioparticle producer cells to enhance production efficiency, and establish a...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) under the Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health program (CFDA 93.286) provides $235,500.00 to Michigan State University to develop a robotic system to improve gene delivery for cystic fibrosis (CF) treatment. The goal is to use magnetically controlled microrobots to penetrate the mucus barrier and facilitate delivery of the CFTR gene via the AAV4...

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), under CFDA Program 93.350, has awarded a $331,034 Project Grant to Vector Surgical LLC to develop the Gene Therapy Catheter (GTC) - an electrical pulsing device designed to enhance the delivery of adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy to the liver. The GTC aims to improve the efficiency and safety of liver-directed gene therapies by combining local delivery with electrical pulsing and a double-balloon system to isolate the...

This Project Grant awarded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), under the CFDA Number 93.350 National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences program, provides $349,909 to Nanoengineering Corporation to develop a portable benchtop instrument, NanoRanger, that can quickly and accurately measure the size of viral vectors like adeno-associated virus (AAV) at the angstrom scale. This will help the gene therapy industry meet cost reduction goals by enabling...