Genflow Biosci Regulatory News (GENF)

PRESS RELEASE

3 May 2022

Genflow Biosciences Plc

("Genflow" or "the Company")

New Collaborative Research Agreement Signed with Organips

Genflow (LSE: GENF) is pleased to announce it has entered into a collaborative research agreement with Organips, a France-based biotechnology company founded by Prof Jean Marc Lemaitre, a world leader in cellular aging reversibility through induced pluripotent stem cells ("iPSC") reprogramming strategies.

The collaboration will initially research the potential of the Sirtuin-6 ("SIRT6") gene variant found in centenarians (people aged more than 100 years old) in reversing the aging process in cells from patients with Werner Syndrome ("WS"), a rare disease characterised by premature aging.

Through the collaboration, Genflow and Organips will work on the generation of iPSC and will focus on pre-clinical exploratory research studies evaluating the potential of SIRT6 to reprogramme WS liver organoids (artificial multicellular tissue) and make them young again as a prerequisite for future SIRT6 therapies.

The research programme entitled "Evaluation of SIRT6 Activity On iPSC Derived WRN Liver Organoids As A Prerequisite For SIRT6 Therapy", will seek to demonstrate both the safety and efficacy of SIRT6 in reliable WS models. Organips has significant expertise in taking old cells and rejuvenating them. Prof Jean Marc Lemaitre who has published several papers on reprogramming cells, is a leader in this field and has filed several patents.

Genflow is a UK-based biotechnology company focused on longevity and the development of therapies to counteract the effects of aging and diseases associated with advanced age.

Dr Eric Leire, Founder and CEO of Genflow, said: "Genflow is very excited with this collaboration which gives the Company the opportunity to work with a company under the scientific advisory of Prof Jean Marc Lemaitre, who has tremendous experience in reprograming cells. Through this collaboration Genflow will work on reprogramming cells from patients with Werner Syndrome with the aim of taking the prematurely aged cells from Werner patients and making them young again. Reprograming is one of the most exciting research areas within the longevity field and is attracting significant investment, with prominent deals in the sector attracting investment capital of over $3bn last year."

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About Genflow

Genflow is a UK-based biotechnology company established in 2020. The Company is developing gene therapies designed to target the aging process and to reduce and delay the incidence of age-related diseases. This will be done through novel therapeutics targeting aging in humans by using adeno-associated virus ("AAV") vectors to deliver copies of the Sirtuin-6 ("SIRT6") gene variant that is found in centenarians into cells.

Its mission is to increase understanding of the factors that control and impact lifespan. Genflow researches, develops, and commercialises therapeutic solutions to lengthen health span, the amount of time we live in good health, creating biological interventions that enable longer and healthier lives. Genflow is dedicated to the development and commercialisation of novel therapeutics targeting aging in dogs and humans. By treating aging, Genflow can contribute to a decrease in healthcare costs and lessen the emotional and societal burden that comes with an aging population.

To learn more visit www.genflowbio.com

About Organips

Organips, in Montpellier, France, is dedicated to becoming the world leader of reconstructed organs with differentiated cells from induced pluripotent cells: the mission of Organips is to become the premier provider of human pancreases and bladders for transplantation. Organips is dedicated to building long-term relationships with federal agencies involved in the regulation of the medical care system and most importantly with patients. 

About Prof Jean-Marc Lemaitre

Jean-Marc Lemaitre is the co-founder and co-director of the Institute of Regenerative Medicine and Biotherapies of Montpellier, France. He started his career in 1984 as an engineer at the National Centre for Scientific Research. He completed his Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology at Paris Diderot University in 1995, and went on to complete his post-doctoral degree at the Jacques Monod Institute in Paris. He joined the Institute of Human Genetics of Montpellier (IGH) and then obtained tenure as a senior scientist at the National Institute for Scientific and Medical Research (INSERM) in 1984. Awarded by the AVENIR INSERM Program in 2006, he first worked as an independent group leader at the Institute of Functional Genomics of Montpellier (IGF), working on Genome plasticity in aging.

A notable achievement, Professor Lemaitre demonstrated the existence of an overlap between mitosis and S phase in rapid cell early embryogenesis (Lemaitre et al., JCB 1998), identified CDC6, the only oocyte missing replicating factor translated during maturation to give the competence to replicate to the embryo (Lemaitre et al., Nature 2002), identified mitosis as a key step in the reprogramming of the genome in nuclear transfer experiments (Lemaitre et al., Cell 2005). He also demonstrated cellular aging reversibility through a patented iPSC reprogramming strategy (Lapasset et al., Genes &Dev 2011). He mapped replication origins in human cells and identified a G-quadruplexes as a consensus sequence for priming (Besnard et al., NSMB 2012) and identified replication timing domain signatures of physiological and accelerated aging (Riveria-Mulla et al., PNAS 2017). He further identified DNMT1 as a major actor in the reorganisation of chromosomes in SAHFs during senescence induced by oncogene (Sati et al., Mol Cell 2020).

In addition, he is the co-founder and advisor to two start-ups, Ingraalys, which is dedicated to skin rejuvenation and hair regrowth by reprogramming strategies and Organips, which is dedicated to the production of human organs from iPSC derivatives.

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