GMP grade plasmid DNA to serve as a direct therapeutic targeting various indications

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) and Ship of Theseus, a therapeutics company developing degradation-resistant homeobox (HOX) family biologics, today announced a Good Manufacturing Practice- (GMP) plasmid DNA contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) agreement. Ship of Theseus will leverage Charles River's premier expertise to manufacture GMP plasmid DNA to serve as the active drug substance for its lead candidate.

Ship of Theseus is developing a proprietary suite of biologics based on the HOX family of transcription factors, which are responsible for driving the differentiation of tissue stem cells towards their respective lineages to repair and maintain the correct function of tissues and organs. Proprietary modifications may enable these regulators to be used as therapeutics.

The collaboration between Charles River and Ship of Theseus will support therapeutic development for a broad variety of target indications such as diabetic and chronic wounds, neutropenia, psoriasis, androgenetic alopecia, women's health and infertility, and epithelial cancers. Charles River's GMP plasmid DNA CDMO center of excellence based in Keele, United Kingdom will lead the collaboration, providing services that include plasmid DNA backbone generation, plasmid synthesis, GMP master cell bank (MCB) generation, pre-production evaluation, and GMP plasmid DNA manufacture including in-house release testing.