- SOHM recently acquired ABBIE, a world-class gene-editing platform capable of inserting larger DNA sequences, including full genes, into a desired location of the target cell’s genome
- ABBIE is poised to facilitate drug development, with SOHM confident that its new gene-editing technology can revolutionize the field of cardiology by supporting new ways of discovering and developing drugs
- The ABBIE platform system is easy to operate and boasts high efficiency, low cost, and simple design
- ABBIE improves on some of the shortcomings of CRISPR-Cas9 as well as other gene-editing technologies, such as enabling researchers to edit genes of a large number of cell types at different stages of their life cycles and does not require the cutting of double stranded DNA
- Compared to other gene-editing technologies, ABBIE has achieved significant strides in development with much less R&D spending
Genome editing refers to the modification of a cell’s DNA (genome) to block, improve, restore or add gene expression and gene function. It may be used to modify genomic DNA of a cell or subject to correct or to provide a model for a genetic disease. The process alters the expression of the gene and corrects the mutations or genetic differences that cause disease, thus modulating the disease, for instance. Gene editing is the direct result of advancements in human genomics, clinical medicine, molecular biology, and genetics, which have made it possible to directly target and modify genomic sequences of cells with clearly defined nuclei (eukaryotic cells), including human cells (https://ibn.fm/UHi7v).
Over the years, researchers have developed new gene-editing platforms and technologies, one of which was recently acquired by SOHM (OTC: SHMN), a pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical company that manufactures and markets generic drugs. SOHM acquired ABBIE, a world-class gene-editing platform capable of inserting larger DNA sequences, including full genes, into a desired, predetermined, and precise location within the target cell’s genome (https://ibn.fm/ocohf). ABBIE uses non-viral vectors and engineered recombinant proteins combined with targeted integration to insert the DNA sequences.
SOHM’s new gene-editing technology, which is currently undergoing further development to optimize expression and purification of its protein-based platform, can facilitate drug discovery, essentially a process of finding new compounds that can regulate the function of a biological target, such as a gene involved in a disease, RNA, or a protein. SOHM believes ABBIE has the potential to transform and revolutionize the field of cardiology by supporting new ways of discovering and developing pertinent drugs.
According to SOHM COO Dr. David Aguilar, Ph.D., “ABBIE can facilitate drug discovery by allowing researchers to edit the DNA of cells in a dish (in vitro) and make them express a specific gene related to a cardiac disease. For example, ABBIE can be used to create cells that have a mutation in a gene that causes cardiomyopathy, a condition that adversely affects the heart muscle.”
Dr. Aguilar explains that these cells can then be exposed to various therapeutic compounds and subsequently screened to assess the impact such compounds have on the mutated cells as well as the cells’ function. In this way, he holds, ABBIE can help researchers identify new pharmacological candidates that can potentially treat or prevent conditions such as cardiomyopathy.
Moreover, ABBIE can enable researchers to edit the DNA of cells directly in the body (in vivo) and alter their behavior or activity. “For example, ABBIE can be used to target and modify the cardiac conduction cells of the heart, which are responsible for generating and transmitting electrical signals that coordinate the heartbeat. ABBIE can be used to correct or enhance the function of these cells in patients who have genetic conditions that affect their cardiac conduction system, such as long QT syndrome or Brugada syndrome,” continues Dr. Aguilar.
According to Dr. Aguilar, the development of the ABBIE system was inspired to improve the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (“CRISPR”)-associated 9 (simply “CRISPR-Cas9”) gene-editing technology, which improved the speed and accessibility of gene editing to a larger number of laboratories. The CRISPR-Cas9 technology has generated plenty of excitement in the scientific community, becoming the most widely used gene editing tool compared to ZFN (zinc-finger nucleases) and TALENs (transcription activator-like effector nucleases), thanks in large part to its straightforward operation, high efficiency, low cost, and simple design (https://ibn.fm/9mPjB).
As a result, new genome editing systems, which are based on the CRISPR-Cas9 technology and/or are designed to deal with the shortcomings of this technology, provide higher efficiency of DNA insertion or recombination and increased targetability. ABBIE falls in the domain of new genome editing systems that improve on the CRISPR-Cas9 yet retain the high targetability of the technology’s Cas9 proteins. For instance, ABBIE is poised to be able to edit genes of a large number of cell types at different stages of their life cycles, overcoming the limitations of current cell editing and cell engineering systems. And compared to other gene-editing technologies, ABBIE has achieved the same level of progress with much less R&D spending.
SOHM has big plans for the ABBIE platform system. According to Dr. Aguilar, ABBIE will be utilized not only for human cell therapies but also for engineering plant DNA, potentially leading to increased generation of biofuels. The system can also be commercialized as a kit for off-the-shelf utility for clients such as universities, pharmaceutical industry companies, government laboratories, and private institutions. It can also deliver genes of interest for clinical trials.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.SOHM.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to SHMN are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/SHMN
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