Hamburg, Germany, July 2005 – genOway Germany GmbH, the German subsidiary of the European market leader in transgenesis, has further strengthened its position as one of the leading providers of genetically modified rodents. Scientists from 5 European countries have chosen the company as their SME partner in the EU Framework Program Episomal Vectors for Human Gene Therapy” due to its expertise and its excellent reputation as a reliable provider within the scientific community. The program is focused on the study of innovative DNA transport elements (episomes) for the delivery of therapeutic genes to treat human genetic diseases.
During the 1990s great interest for gene therapy emerged for the first time. Successful studies in animal models of human disease, led to the first attempts to treat patients with hereditary defects by implanting a functional version of a damaged gene into the patient’s body. The initial high hopes for this technique were cruelly disappointed when several of the patients contracted cancer and died. The Epi-vector-project is specifically designed to eliminate the established risks associated with gene therapy.
The project demands a variety of skills that are provided by a consortium of leading European laboratories that study the behaviour of DNA inside the nucleus of human cells. A detailed knowledge of nuclear organisation is believed to be key to understanding how episomes can be developed to provide safe and efficient delivery systems for gene therapy. “A critical step in the developmental process is validation of vector performance in an animal model. genOway were the obvious choice for this crucial aspect of the project says Dean Jackson, coordinator of the programme. Within the project genOway will use their world-leading skills in developing transgenic animals to establish if the gene therapy systems is transmitted efficient from mother to daughter cells during cell division. While this is know to happen in cultured cells, it is absolutely essential to know how the vector will behave in the different tissues of a living animal. The duration of the program is planned for 3 years. About the Epi-Vector-Program
The Scientists in this EU research program come from eight research facilities in Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, Spain and Israel. The German project partners come from the University of Witten as well as the GBF (Gesellschaft für Biotechnologische Forschung GmbH) in Brunswick. The coordinator of the program is the molecular biologist Dr. Dean Jackson from Manchester, England. About genOway
www.genoway.com
Based in Hamburg, genOway Germany is a service provider fully dedicated to the development of tailor made transgenic mouse and rat models. The company was founded when the Hamburg service provider Murinus GmbH and genOway, the European Market Leader in transgenesis from Lyon, France, merged in January 2005. The company has established business relationships with renowned academic research centres such as the Max-Planck-Institutes for Experimental Medicine (Goettingen) and Molecular Biomedicine (Muenster), the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Forschungszentrum Juelich, Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich or the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University, Frankfurt. The company also works with most major biotech companies and leading pharmaceuticals companies.
genOway is involved in EU 6th Framework for several projects as a SME partner, including the EVIGenoret project (Functional Genomics of the Retina in Health and disease). With 50 full-time employees and operating in 19 countries in Europe, North America and Asia, genOway is, with respect to staff and clients, the largest company in its field in Europe. 40 experienced biologists (15 PhDs and 25 technicians) are solely concentrated on the design of genetic models, molecular biology, cell biology and embryology.
For further information contact our new German office:
genOway Germany GmbH
Grundstrasse 16 20257 Hamburg Phone: 040-40 19 71 00
Email: waesche@genoway.com