Metagenomi Presents Findings on Three New CRISPR-associated Gene Editing Systems and their Ability to Edit T-Cell and NK-Cell Genomes for Use in Cell Therapy

Metagenomi, a gene editing company, today presented preclinical data on three new CRISPR-associated gene editing systems useful for the development of novel cellular therapies, including T- and NK-cell therapies, at the 24^th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT), which is being held virtually.

"Engineered T-cell therapies, such as chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR Ts), have had a significant impact for patients over the past several years and we believe that our novel gene editing systems can be used to advance new and effective cellular therapies to treat patients with cancer and other diseases," said Brian C. Thomas, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO of Metagenomi. "With these three new gene editing systems, we show that we are able to edit the genome of primary human T- and NK-cells, to perform multiplexed knockouts in the cells, and to integrate a CAR construct into the genome of T- and NK-cells, all without interfering with cell viability or producing off-target activity."

The presentation, given by Gregory J. Cost, Ph.D., Senior Director of Biology at Metagenomi, showed that the three CRISPR-associated gene editing systems produced extremely high-frequency gene editing in primary human T cells and NK cells. None of the editing systems adversely affected cell viability. The precision and activity of the gene editing systems will enable efficient engineering and manufacture of allogenic cell therapies, including next-generation CAR Ts, CAR NKs, and TCR-based T cell therapies. Moreover, as Metagenomi sources its gene editing systems from microbes found in environmental samples, human pre-existing immunity to Metagenomi's systems is expected to be unlikely.

In addition to these presentations, Metagenomi presented posters on three additional topics relating to novel CRISPR systems on May 11^th at ASGCT. These posters included: A novel CRISPR associated Type V editing system derived from metagenomic samples with potent activity in liver cells; Expanding PAM recognition of CRISPR-associated endonucleases by domain engineering; and Novel families of CRISPR systems enriched in small effectors with genome editing capability. Metagenomi also gave a short talk titled: "Novel CRISPR-associated Transposase Systems for Targeted DNA Integration."

About Metagenomi
At Metagenomi, we are accelerating innovation in cell and gene therapy with a wave of proprietary CRISPR-based systems to accurately edit DNA where current technologies cannot. Our metagenomics-powered discovery platform and analytical expertise reveal novel cellular machinery sourced from otherwise unknown organisms. We adapt and forge these naturally evolved systems into powerful therapeutic tools that can be leveraged by partners and fuel our own pipeline of potentially curative medicines. Our goal is to revolutionize gene editing and unlock its power for the benefit of patients around the world. For more information, please visit https://metagenomi.co/.