Award Details:
Award Type: Accelerator
Award #: A-017
Proposal Title: Exosomes as a Novel Biologic Platform for Targeted Therapy
PI(s): Huiping Liu and Deyu Fang (NU)
Award Amount: $100,000.00
Application Cycle: Round 5 (Fall 2021)
Award Start Date: September 1, 2021
Award End Date: August 31, 2022
Abstract:
Exosomes are cell-secreted extracellular vesicles of nano-meter size, serving as both
diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers and RNA/drug delivery system using the lumen as a cargo. The global markets for exosome diagnostic and therapeutic exosomes reagents are emerging and fast growing. Our unique exosome biologic platform presents therapeutic proteins and antibodies on the exosome surface for targeted neutralization therapy. As proof-of-concept, we have developed exoACE2 as our lead product: ACE2 presented on exosomes as a decoy therapeutic for blocking coronavirus infection. The most outstanding novelty of exoACE2 is its 100-fold efficacy compared to the soluble ACE2 in neutralizing virus. ExoACE2 can also block broad strains of coronaviruses and their mutants in comparison to individual antibody clones. In addition to its capabilities for RNA/compound drug delivery, exosome therapeutics are expected to have better biosafety, lower toxicity, and lower immunogenicity than chemically engineered nanoparticles.