InGel Therapeutics develops engineered cell therapies targeting retinal degeneration by utilizing highly pure precursor cells for neuroprotection. The company pairs these cells with a biomimetic hydrogel delivery platform that mimics the human vitreous for optimal in vivo performance. This dual innovation addresses limitations in current regenerative approaches for diseases like Retinitis Pigmentosa and Dry AMD.
Funding
$9.5M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Retinal degeneration, as seen in diseases like Retinitis Pigmentosa and Dry AMD, involves the progressive failure of multiple systems within the eye, leading to vision loss. Current stem cell therapies face challenges such as uncontrolled cell differentiation and unpredictable in-vivo microenvironments, limiting their clinical success.
Solution
InGel Therapeutics is developing a cellular development platform that uses precursor cells, which are fated to differentiate into a single retinal neuron type, achieving high purity and controlled cell-cell interactions. These precursor cells can be expanded to large quantities, making them suitable for therapeutic applications. InGel also utilizes a hydrogel delivery platform, mimicking the human vitreous with hyaluronic acid and gelatin, to protect and deliver retinal neurons in vivo. The hydrogel's stiffness and degradation timeline can be tuned for intravitreal or subretinal injections, offering a promising safety profile due to enzymatic degradation and clearance by the eye.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes patients with complex retinal degenerative diseases such as Retinitis Pigmentosa, Dry AMD, and Glaucoma, as well as researchers in the field of retinal regeneration.
Features
- Cellular Development Platform:
- Rod, cone, and retinal ganglion cell (RGC) precursor cells derived from fetal or ESC sources
- High purity (>95%) of targeted retinal neuron types
- Confirmed phenotype and morphology for each cell type
- Demonstrated neuroprotective properties
- Hydrogel Delivery Platform:
- Biomimetic hydrogel matrix composed of hyaluronic acid and gelatin
- Tunable stiffness and viscosity to mimic the human vitreous
- Enzymatic degradation via collagenase and hyaluronidase
- Suitable for both intravitreal and subretinal injections
- RegenesisTM Research Platform:
- Target discovery and validation platform for neuroprotective pathways
- Single-cell proteomics profiling for rod photoreceptors and their secretome
- In vitro testing using pure human cone photoreceptor populations
- In vivo validation in animal models with functional endpoint measurements