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Gene Pipeline

Delivery Expressed Indication Abstract Patents Inventor Platform Product AAV10 vector-based therapy for treating ALS with enhanced tropism for neuronal cells. Administration of rAAV encoding inhibitory RNA for Reference#: Amyolateral Sclerosis Guangping Gao superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) distributes widely throughout CNS with low UMMS10-36 rAAV miR-SOD1 (ALS; Lou Gehrig’s Zhushang Xu toxicity. Long-term inhibition of mutant SOD1 improves lifespan in the animal Patent#: Diseases) models. more info. 9,102,949

Novel therapeutic to treat cholesterol-related disorders by recombinant Reference#: Dyslipidimia, Familial adeno-associated (rAAV)-based . Introduction of miR122- Guangping Gao miR-122 UMMS10-37 rAAV inhibitor in the liver significantly reduces cholesterol levels up to Phillip Zamore Antagonist Patent#: (FH) 50% for at least 14 weeks in mice. more info. 9,272,053

New effective and safe gene therapy approach that allows across the blood brain barrier (BBB) upon intravascular administration. Reference#: Multiple inserts Neurodegenerative Guangping Gao rAAV Designed to minimize off-target effects by incorporation of non-CNS-tissue UMMS10-38 coding for Disorders, Canavan Zhushang Xu specific miRNA binding site into the transgene expression cassette. more Patent#: RNAi/ Disease info. 9,102,949

Novel method to isolate and characterize natural variants of AAV9. This new Reference#: Application of new information allows for designing caspids with higher efficiency in packaging UMMS10-39 Guangping Gao rAAV rAAV9 variant AAV for gene therapy and tissue specificity. more info. Patent#: Terence Flotte Pending Newly designed multicistronic expression construct with efficient shRNA Reference#: Application of new delivery. Hairpin RNAi expression cassette shown to specifically improve UMMS10-40 Guangping Gao rAAV shRNA expression construct replication and packaging efficiency. more info. Patent#: for gene therapy Pending

Delivery Expressed Platform Product Indication Abstract Patent Inventor Newly discovered phenomenon in which changes in brain energy N-acetyl-asparate is observed when N-Acetylaspartate (NAA) levels are perturbed. Altered NAA Reference#: (NAA) metabolism in rAAV/ Aspartoacylase levels are associated with Cavagan and neurodegenerative diseases where UMMS16-17 Guangping Gao Cavagan and Small (ASPA) there is increased preference for utilization of fatty acids over glucose, Patent#: neurodegenerative molecules leading to white matter loss. more info. Pending disease

Newly discovered relationship between N-Acetylaspartate (NAA) metabolite Reference#: levels and glucose metabolism. Introduction of ASPA gene can reverse rAAV/ N-acetyl-asparate UMMS16-17 Aspartoacylase metabolic changes that occur with decreased levels of NAA. Monitoring and Guangping Gao Small (NAA) effects on Patent#: (ASPA) adjusting the NAA levels may have implication for wide range of diseases molecules glucose metabolism Pending that display changes in bioenergetics metabolism. more info.

New miRNA delivered by rAAV for silencing SOD1 & C9orf72 SODl , which are associated with ALS. This method enables effective therapy at low Reference#: anti-SOD1 doses with the persistence of rAAV episomes that continually expresses the UMMS13-19 Robert Brown rAAV ALS miRs nucleic acids, thus rendering re-treatment unnecessary. This method also Patent#: Christian Mueller minimizes rAAV exposure to non-CNS peripheral tissue. more info. Pending

New AAV vectors that enable transgene expression at therapeutic levels for Reduce adverse treatment of lysosomal and other disorders. These levels are achieved Reference#: Multiple inserts effects of AAV gene without the adverse events that arises due to secondary effects of AAV- UMMS15-19 Miguel Sena rAAV with optimized therapy for multiple mediated product delivery. This newly engineered regulatory element can Patent#: Esteves promoters diseases e.g. apply broadly to circumvent adverse effects of AAV therapy. more info. Pending lysosomal disorders

New AAV therapy facilitates long-term production of sFasLin the by intra-vitreal injection with no detrimental effect observed in normal animals. Reference#: Ann Marshak- Glaucoma-prone mice were injected either before or after disease onset and UMMS16-64 Rothstein rAAV sFasL Glaucoma both animals were found to have preserved retinal ganglion cells with their Patent#: Bruce Ksander axons, which normally results in death with onset of the disease. more info. Pending

New AAV technology with an insertion of 19-amino acid “alanine string” that Application of new has dramatically increased CNS tropism compared to that of AAV9, the Reference#: Multiple inserts AAV for high- natural variant with the currently highest known CNS efficiency. UMMS14-58 Miguel Sena rAAV coding for efficiency of gene This technology shows increased CNS transduction without changing Patent#: Esteves RNAi/protein therapy in the CNS transduction efficiency of peripheral tissues. more info. Pending

Delivery Expressed Platform Product Indication Abstract Patent Inventor Newly designed recombinant AAV capsids with greater efficiency for CNS delivery than AAV9, the natural variant with the currently highest known CNS Reference#: Multiple inserts Application of new transduction efficiency. These new AAV capsids, B1-B4, show considerably UMMS14-59 Miguel Sena rAAV coding for AAV for high- lower off-target effects in the liver when compared to AAV9. Additionally, Patent#: Esteves RNAi/protein efficiency of gene each of these AAV capsids show selectively higher efficiency for specific Pending therapy in multiple peripheral tissues (e.g. pancreas, sk. muscle, heart, adipocyte). more info. diseases This invention uses a dual-specificity AAV vectors to correct Alpha 1- Reference#: Dual Vector Platform Antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency. This dual vector carries: 1) miRNAs that target UMMS11-45 Terence Flotte Multiple inserts rAAV anti trypsin deficiency and inhibit the expression of the mutant endogenous protein (AAT), and 2) Patent#: Christian Mueller coding for and other diseases gene for modified and functional AAT protein that is not targeted by the 9,226,976 Phillip Zamore RNAi/protein aforementioned miRNA. more info.

This technology originates from identification of a deep intronic in Dyferlin (DYSF) that alters mRNA splicing to include a mutant peptide Reference#: Antisense fragment within a key DYSF domain. This new antisense oligo rAVV/ UMMS14-41 Robert H Brown Dysferlinopathies nucleotide(AON-)mediated exon-skipping to restore production of normal, AON Patent#: Janice Dominov (AON) full-length DYSF in patients' cells in vitro, offering therapeutic solution for Pending patient with Dyferlin-associated maladies. more info.

The technology utilizes methods of implementing viral vectors harboring a Reference#: transgene(s) in combination with tissue specific anti-miRNA sequences to UMMS08-55 Guangping Gao Platform/vector minimize off-target effects. In addition, this method allows for production of rAAV micro-RNA Patent#: Phillip Zamore engineering somatic transgenic animal models by targeted destruction of specific 9,217,155 types. more info.

This new AAV technology involves co-delivery of a transgene that minimizes Application of new immune responses against the transgene product of interest. Specifically, Ovalbumin with Reference#: AAV vector that this process involves administering a rAA-harboring a transgene engineered 3’UTR immune UMMS14-22 Guangping Gao increase potency of to express an inhibitory RNA transcript that targets one or more immune- rAAV associated Patent#: Phillip Zamore therapeutic protein associated miRNA. This interaction lowers the immune response and miRNA binding Pending levels of interest consequently increases the potency of the therapeutic protein and its effects. sites more info.

Delivery Expressed Platform Product Indication Abstract Patent Inventor New rAAV vector technology desirable for gene therapy applications addressing muscular and lung disorders. A novel AAV9 capsid mutant Reference#: Application of new Multiple inserts produces local tissue-restricted expression and persistence, UMMS12-73 AAV vector for tissue Guangping Gao rAAV coding for delivered by intravascular (IV), intramuscular (IM) and intranasal (IN) route. Patent#: specificity Li Zhong RNAi/protein The therapy is effective while producing low levels of expression in liver. Pending

more info.

New Cas9 technology with improved activity, precision, and sequence targeting range. This new Cas9 -DNA targeting unit chimera utilizes Reference#: Cas9 Improved Cas9 programmable DNA binding domain for editing specificity. The chimeric UMMS14-68 Scott Wolfe CRISPR nuclease-DNA nuclease for genome nuclease complex allows for conjugation of other Cas9 variants to reduce off- UMMS16-26 Erik Sontheimer targeting unit engineering target and undesired editing of the genome. This improved Cas9 technology Patent#: chimera will have application for future human gene therapy. more info. Pending

This novel “off-switch” for Cas9 is important for preventing off target editing NmeCas9 Cas9 “off-switch” for effects from CRISPR technology. This technology consists of that Reference#: inhibitor Acr prevention of off have the ability to inhibit NmeCas9 nuclease. This invention has great UMMS16-39 Erik Sontheimer CRISPR proteins target potential for application in genome editing with CRISPR in human Patent#: Alan Davidson in CRISPR technology application. more info. Pending

This new technology capitalizes on the discovery of DNase H activity in NmeCas9 that could serve as a novel programmable RNA-guided "restriction Reference#: enzyme" that cleaves ssDNA, with no sequence constraints. Compared to UMMS16-05 NmeCas9 Programmable RNA- RNase H that degrades the RNA strand of a RNA-DNA hybrid (with little or Erik Sontheimer CRISPR Patent#: guided DNase H no sequence preference), NmeCas9's DNase activity makes specific cuts Pending and has the opposite nucleic acid specificity, i.e. cleaving the DNA strand of

the hybrid duplex. more info.

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