AskBio buys Synpromics, plans expansion

Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio) has bought Synpromics bringing gene control synthetic promoter technology to its AAV gene therapy programs.

Under terms of the deal, Edinburgh, UK-based Synpromics will will bring synthetic promoter technology, along with bioinformatics and intelligent data-driven design, to North Carolina’s AskBio’s gene therapy pipeline.

AskBio has its own capsid library and a proprietary adeno-associated virus (AAV) manufacturing platform called Pro10 which it uses in its gene therapies. Its lead candidate is in Phase I/II for Pompe Disease.

Image: iStock/krung99

“For some time, the field has understood that the three essential components for advancing successful AAV gene therapy has centered around production, capsids and promoters,” said Jude Samulski, founder of AskBio and the first scientist to clone AAV.

“Today AskBio has added the last critical component to our tool chest,” he continued, adding the acquisition “marks a major step forward in the evolution of AAV gene therapy.”

AskBio did not divulge financials of the deal, but when contacted Synpromics told Bioprocess Insider that “AskBio will be investing in the expansion and scaling up of Synpromics” going forward.

We were also told Synpromics will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary and continue to service partners – and therefore potential rivals – in the gene therapy space.

“The Synpromics business model means that we have always been working on competing programs and have strict procedures in place to maintain confidentiality and integrity between those programs.

“As we will be operating as an autonomous business unit within the AskBio family, this confidentiality and integrity between internal and external programs will be maintained.”