Takara Bio announces the business partnership with Gap Junction Therapeutics to develop AAV gene therapy for hereditary hearing loss

Kusatsu/Shiga Japan – June 18, 2024 – Takara Bio Inc. (Takara Bio) announced today that it has entered into a basic agreement on business alliance with Gap Junction Therapeutics, Inc. (GapJunction), a startup company spun out of Juntendo University, to co-develop adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector gene therapy for GJB2 gene mutation-related hearing loss.

 

GapJunction is a biopharmaceutical startup company aiming to revolutionize the treatments of hearing loss and gap junction-related diseases based on the research achievements owned by Dr. Kazusaku Kamiya, Associate Professor, and Dr. Katsuhisa Ikeda, Honorary Professor at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Juntendo University School of Medicine. Dr. Kamiya serves as the CEO of GapJunction. Through the collaborative research with Dr. Kamiya, we have confirmed the restoration of hearing loss in a mouse model by administration of AAV modified vectors, such as the inner ear tissue-tropic AAV vector SonuAAV^TM carrying the GJB2 gene, the major cause of hereditary hearing loss.

 

Under the agreement, GapJunction is responsible for the developing AAV gene therapy products for GJB2-related hearing loss and clinical trials, while Takara Bio is responsible for manufacturing including its process development, and will have an exclusive manufacturing right after the regulatory approval. Both companies aim cooperatively to accelerate the realization of the world’s first gene therapy for GJB2-related hereditary hearing loss, and deliver effective treatments to patients who currently have no available therapy.

 

As part of our CRDMO (Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization) business, we will provide a wide array of services to support startups, leveraging our proprietary platform technologies cultivated in the CDMO business so far.

 

 

                                                    

Gap Junction Therapeutics is a Japanese biotech startup focused on developing innovative bio-pharmaceuticals targeting gap junction molecules especially for the treatment of hearing-related disorders. Founded in April 2021 by Kazusaku Kamiya, Ph.D. (CEO) and Katsuhisa Ikeda, M.D., Ph.D, the company collaborates with Juntendo University and aims to improve hearing health through cutting-edge molecular technologies.