Taysha and UT Southwestern Launch Innovation Fund to Advance CNS Gene Therapies into Clinic

Rare Daily Staff

Taysha Gene Therapies and UT Southwestern Medical Center announced the launch of an innovation fund to discover and develop novel gene therapy candidates and next-generation technologies for monogenic diseases of the central nervous system.

The expanded partnership will support UTSW’s discovery efforts to facilitate the translation of promising discoveries from bench to clinic. A team of researchers from the gene therapy program at UT Southwestern will explore novel gene therapy targets in new disease areas and create next-generation gene therapy technology platforms to address some of the current limitations of this modality. Taysha will have an exclusive option on new programs and intellectual property associated with, and arising from, the research conducted under this agreement.

“We believe that the combination of UTSW’s translational research expertise in gene therapy and strong track record of innovation and our experience in drug development and GMP manufacturing will create opportunities to reach more patients with unmet medical needs,” said RA Session II, president, founder and CEO of Taysha.

The partnership has already produced more than 18 novel AAV-based gene therapy candidates, including TSHA-101 in GM2 gangliosidosis and TSHA-118 in CLN1, which are currently in clinical development.

Taysha says it is on a mission to eradicate monogenic CNS disease. The Dallas, Texas-based biotech, which reunited former investors and executives from gene therapy pioneer AveXis, launched in April 2020 with a pipeline of 15 AAV-based gene therapy programs focused on both rare and large-market indications and a collaboration with UTSW, and completed an IPO before the end of the year.

Photo: RA Session II, president, founder and CEO of Taysha