Evonik and Stanford collaborate to go beyond the capabilities of LNPs

Evonik and Stanford will begin a three-year research collaboration to develop a polymer-based drug delivery system for mRNA therapeutics.

German contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Evonik will license and commercialize Stanford University’s polymer-based drug delivery system, which enables broader use of messenger RNA (mRNA).

The CDMO work will take place at Evonik’s facilities in Vancouver, Canada and Birmingham, USA.

Image: iStock/phototechno

“The platform is called CART (Charge Altering Releasable Transporters),” vice president of R&D, Innovation for Evonik Stefan Randl told BioProcess Insider.

“This was developed by scientists at Stanford University, further development and marketing of the platform is the goal of this collaboration.”

According to Evonik, CART has the potential to deliver mRNA to specific parts of the body that exceed the capabilities of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs).

“mRNA technology has great potential for tackling infectious diseases, enabling cancer immunotherapy and in therapeutics for protein replacement and gene therapy,” Randl told us.

“In order to make full use of these technologies we need to ensure the mRNA can be effectively and safely delivered into the cell. LNPs are one way of doing this, but we will need a toolbox of drug delivery technologies to target an expanded range of tissues and organs, beyond what LNPs can currently achieve.”

The CDMO acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has driven the development of mRNA vaccines but told us “there are many opportunities for this technology going forward.”

The collaboration accelerates Evonik’s strategy to increase its presence in system solutions within its life science division.

The firm looks to increase the share of system solution services it offers from 20 percent to more than 50 percent by 2030.

No financial details were disclosed, but Evonik confirmed it is a sponsored research collaboration.