From innovation to value creation: the crucial role played by the research performed at OSR and Fondazione Telethon in the development of innovative technologies, has been confirmed by the success of EsoBiotec SA. As part of its design, their therapeutic asset incorporates an engineered viral surface component developed by Luigi Naldini and Alessio Cantore at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Cell and Gene Therapy (SR-TIGET), facilitated by the strategic efforts of the Business Development Division at San Raffaele Hospital.
Fondazione Telethon and IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele wish to congratulate EsoBiotec SA, a Belgian biotech company specialized in in-vivo cell therapy, and to their CEO Jean-Pierre Latere on the acquisition by AstraZeneca.
This deal, worth $1B biobucks, represents a critical step in developing in-vivo cell therapies and marks a breakthrough in the field of oncological and immune-mediated therapies.
The technology deployed at EsoBiotec, based on the use of lentiviral vectors to provide precise genetic instructions to immune cells, has led to the development of ESO-T01. This therapy allows for the in-vivo reprogramming of T-cells into CAR-T anti-BCMA cells for treating multiple myeloma. The clinical development, initiated in China, has already started and the first patient was dosed in November 2024.
ESO-T01 integrates cutting-edge scientific components, including an engineered viral surface created by Professor Luigi Naldini, director of SR-Tiget, and Dr. Alessio Cantore, researcher at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (UniSR) and group leader in the Hepatic Gene Therapy Unit at SR-Tiget.
The engineered component of the viral surface, licensed to EsoBiotec by San Raffaele Hospital and Fondazione Telethon, is based on an innovative technology that reduces unwanted immune response, to improve the safety and efficacy of gene therapy.
San Raffaele Hospital and Fondazione Telethon are proud of the trust placed by the life science industry in this technology, also adopted by GeneSpire, one of the spin-offs of San Raffaele Hospital and Fondazione Telethon.
This recognition reaffirms the value of the scientific research conducted in our laboratories and strengthens our commitment to developing new therapies that can significantly improve patients’ lives.
