Technology platform for targeted delivery of lipid nanoparticles
The core technology builds on a high-affinity interaction between a proprietary synthetic peptide tag (pTag) and a scFv antibody fragment. The interaction is unique in several ways. The pTag is very short, only 9 amino acids long, and lacks secondary structure, making it highly predictable and developable. The affinity is in the low picomolar range and the binding displays signs of induced fit with near-irreversible properties. The pTag can be fused with many different payloads, such as peptides, antisense oligonucleotides, small molecules, and notably, constituents of lipid nanoparticles such as PEG.
Targeted delivery of the LNP is enabled by attaching the pTag to the surface of LNPs, and the scFv to a targeting unit, typically a bivalent bispecific antibody (bsAb) or a smaller monovalent bispecific format such as bite scFv-scFv or scFv-VHH. The targeting unit is attached to the pTag-LNP by a simple mixing protocol. In principle, the scFv can be attached to any targeting unit allowing delivery of LNPs to any cell carrying a cell-specific surface antigen. Moreover, the LNP can be loaded with any RNA, which in theory allows reprogramming of any cell in the body. The technology platform is especially promising for its potential to enable personalized LNP delivery in cancer and autoimmunity where any LNP can be attached to the targeting unit at the bedside.
Strike is using the technology to develop a pipeline of novel in vivo CAR-M and in vivo CAR-T candidates for autoimmune disease and cancer.
