NEW YORK – Ligandal Inc., a leader in personalized genomic medicine, biomaterials, and AI and Nanotronics, a developer of advanced intelligent inspection systems and production hardware for adaptive manufacturing, today announced a partnership to commercialize, develop, and provide next-generation technologies for gene therapy, peptide materials, nanomaterials, and characterization of biological technologies.
Together, the two companies will implement future modular fabrication laboratories and inspection hardware as part of nanomedicine and nanomaterials-related development. Ligandal’s new headquarters will also be in The Brooklyn Navy Yard to ensure a cohesive ecosystem, effective collaboration, and generation of new product candidates and laboratory infrastructure.
“The Nanotronics-Ligandal partnership further solidifies New York as a life sciences and advanced manufacturing hub, boosting the ecosystem of great companies we have across the city, specifically in Brooklyn,” said Lindsay Greene, President & CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. “This union of companies will not only continue to create new products at the forefront of life enhancing treatments but will also enable Nanotronics to continue to build and invest in local NYC talent pools that support their growth and innovations,” she continued. “This combination of accomplishments embodies many equitable and inclusive economic development principles and is thus a huge win for New York City and the Brooklyn Navy Yard.”
The companies will work together to create next-generation nanomaterials and end-to-end capabilities to design, characterize, synthesize, and support multiple therapeutic initiatives, including in rare disease-related applications, hematology, infectious disease, and biodefense. Ligandal has demonstrated efficient delivery to bone marrow, immune cells, and rare blood cell populations, as well as >99% inhibition of the virus that causes COVID-19 using its innovative peptide and nanoparticle-based delivery technologies.
“The purpose of this partnership is to scale rapidly, producing the next generation of cell and tissue-specific delivery technologies and synthetic peptides with the highest yields possible, while accelerating the translational development of much-needed precision therapeutics,” said Andre Watson, CEO and Chair of Ligandal. “This will allow the delivery of gene therapies exactly where they need to go, with precision and without the issues seen with viral delivery systems,” he continued. “We think this strategic partnership brings promise to the next frontier of medicine, biotherapeutics, and manufacturing.”
To fast-track Ligandal’s therapeutic programs and demonstrate the safety and efficacy for clinical applications, the company is pursuing a development path around rare hematological genetic diseases, immuno-oncology, and biodefense applications including conducting further trials with live SARS-CoV-2 virus with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“The opportunity and synergies gained here will range from preventing and treating genetic diseases and correcting broad metabolic and degenerative disorders to augmenting and promoting a more robust immune response to the likes of COVID, other emerging infectious diseases, and cancers,” said Dr. Daniel B. Fagbuyi, Chief Medical Officer & EVP for Ligandal and former Obama Administration Biodefense and Public Health appointee. “This platform and partnership also help bridge gaps between the long-standing health inequities and disparities faced with current-generation medicine.”
Ligandal has demonstrated rapid, predictive capabilities to generate peptides to mimic biological interactions, driven by an AI-based approach for simulating, designing, and synthesizing cell-specific targeting technologies for gene therapy, editing, and beyond.
“We are incredibly honored to work with Andre and his team to advance personalized genomic medicine and will deploy our engineers as quickly as possible to optimize the manufacturing of their delivery technologies every step of the way using our proprietary AIPC™ Platform,” said Dr. Matthew Putman, CEO, and cofounder of Nanotronics.
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