What is Direct Cell Reprogramming?
There has been tremendous activity over the last decade in the development of stem cells therapeutics, which have relied on stem cell differentiation protocols, as well as techniques for direct cell reprogramming. Direct cell reprogramming – also called direct cellular conversion – is an approach that allows a patient’s cell to “jump” directly to the specialized multipotent stem cell of choice, thus tailor-making autologous multipotent stem cells needed to repair a damaged or diseased organ.
To date, few companies have had the intellectual property (IP) and know-how to compete within the direct reprogramming space, although there have been some notable successes. One such example is Fortuna Fix, a private, clinical-stage biotech company that patented a direct cell reprogramming technology platform and paired it with a patented bio-scaffolding technology to treatm neurodegenerative diseases and neurotrauma. Fortuna’s two flagship technologies – autologous directly reprogrammed neural precursor cells (“drNPC”) and regeneration matrix (“RMx™”) – are poised to lead a revolution in neuro-regeneration.
Who is Mogrify?
Founded in 2016 in Cambridge, UK, Mogrify is making waves within the direct cell reprogramming space. In news released February 20, 2019, the company announced the close of its second round of seed funding, bringing it total funding to USD $3.7 million. The company also announced the appointment of Darrin M Disley, PhD, DSc, OBE, as CEO.
The funding round was led by investors:
- Ahren Innovation Capital (existing investor)
- 24Haymarket
- Dr Disley (CEO)
Mogrify’s Vision for Direct Cell Conversion
Mogrify’s goal is broad in scope, to apply its direct cell reprogramming technology to generate cells that will enable the “development and manufacture of new cell therapies across every therapeutic area.”
As stated by the company:
“Mogrify builds on a 10 year investment by its co-founders in the development of a systematic big data-science approach (Rackham et al., Nature Genetics, 2016) powered by next-generation sequencing and gene-regulatory data to identify the optimal combination of transcription factors (in vitro) or small molecules (in vivo), needed to convert any mature cell type into any other mature cell type without going through a pluripotent stem cell- or even a progenitor cell-state.”
Mogrify’s Direct Cell ConversionTechnology
To learn more about Mogrify’s direct cell conversion technology, view the article by its CCTO), Assistant Professor Owen Rackham in Nature Genetics, “A predictive computational framework for direct reprogramming between human cell types.” The company’s recent funding announcement can also be found here.
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