Purespring: treating kidney diseases via podocyte gene therapy platform

Syncona-backed Purespring has created a gene therapy platform for selectively targeting podocytes, specialized kidney cells it views as key players in renal diseases. The U.K.-based biotech’s three-pronged approach for homing in on the cells involves an AAV capsid that efficiently transduces podocytes, podocyte-specific promoters, and local administration.

“As far as we know, we are the first gene therapy company active only in the kidney. We’re unique in the sense that we’re delivering our AAV vector directly to the kidney,” Purespring Therapeutics Ltd. CEO Julian Hanak told BioCentury...