3 Calls for Proposals: NRC Disruptive Technology Solutions for Cell and Gene Therapy Challenge Program

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) has announced three separate calls of proposals within the Disruptive Technology Solutions for Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Challenge program.

The program’s vision is to transform health outcomes for Canadians with cancer and genetic diseases. Our researchers use synthetic biology-driven innovations in engineered cell and gene therapies to bring this vision to life. The program’s mission is to develop technologies, platforms, cell lines and collaborative models that will speed up development and enable the delivery of safe, accessible and affordable cell and gene therapies in Canada.

Call 1: Establishment of a good manufacturing practice human amniotic fluid cell seed bank

The primary objective for this funding opportunity within the Disruptive Technology Solutions for Cell and Gene Therapy Challenge program is to harness the potential of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as a renewable and scalable cell source to develop cell-based therapeutic products for regenerative medicine and immunotherapy applications.

Human amniotic fluid derived cells (hAFCs) provide a unique opportunity to access fetal derived cells with potential unique properties and stem-cell like attributes, making these cells more responsive to reprogramming into iPSCs compared to adult donor sources. The NRC is interested in leveraging this unique fetal donor cell source, acquired during routine amniocentesis, to establish good manufacturing practices (GMP)-compliant seed stock biobanks for future use in the development and commercialization of regulatory compliant hAFC and hAFC-iPSC based therapeutics.

The NRC has a long history and expertise in working with hAFCs and hAFC-derived iPSCs, demonstrating their robust differentiation capabilities into a number of clinically relevant cell types (i.e. neurons, natural killer cells, endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes). They will work collaboratively with the successful applicant to establish a good practices compliant hAFC seed stocks as a source of donor cells for the future development of high-quality human iPSCs for use in research development, clinical and commercial applications. Providing the Canadian and international life science research ecosystem with access to such a hAFC seed stock biobank will help overcome the prohibitive accessibility and affordability barriers that limit translational research and promote the development of made-in-Canada stem-cell based therapeutics.

Full information can be found here

Call 2: Next-generation solid tumour cell therapies

Gene editing technologies have the potential to transform adoptive cellular therapies. Although engineered immune cell therapies have been highly successful for some hematological cancers, there are still significant challenges in translating these clinical successes to solid tumour cell therapies.To overcome the challenges of cell therapy treatments for solid tumours, a number of new gene manipulation strategies could be used to engineer immune cells with additional capabilities to extend their utility and reduce their cost. The NRC envisions that the new approaches for gene manipulation of immune cells, combined with their potent solid tumour targeting chimeric antigen receptors molecules, could offer disruptive potential for the development of a safe, effective and affordable treatment for solid tumour cancers. They are also open to projects that propose to use transient expression technologies such as mRNA or other technologies for manipulating a cell product in combination with genomic modification.Full information can be found here

Call 3: RNA-based therapeutics for neurological disorders

To address specific challenges in the cost-effective development and clinical delivery of gene therapies for disorders of the central nervous system, the program is seeking a collaborative partner to support the preclinical translation of a made-in-Canada RNA-based therapeutic for the treatment of neurological disorders.

The NRC owns key technologies for the successful brain delivery of RNA therapeutics, including brain-targeting antibodies and proprietary lipid-based nanoparticles. They has extensive knowledge and expertise in formulation and bioconjugation technologies. For example, using receptor-mediated transcytosis with brain-targeting antibodies allows them to efficiently transport lipid-based nanoparticles containing nucleic acid cargoes across the blood-brain barrier. Leveraging these technologies, they have developed a panel of blood-brain barrier-transmigrating antibodies, allowing the delivery of RNA therapeutics to the brain for gene expression, silencing and editing of central nervous system targets. The proposed collaboration aims to encapsulate therapeutics in their proprietary brain-optimized lipid-based nanoparticles for detailed preclinical studies, laying the foundation for future clinical trial applications.