Just as a sentence doesn’t make sense without spaces, a piece of genetic code needs introns – non-coding regions of DNA that play a vital role in regulating gene expression. ExpressionEdits closed a $13 million seed round on Wednesday to leverage its intronisation technology to boost protein expression and overcome manufacturing roadblocks faced by protein-based therapeutics. “There are a number of different biological pathways that are impacted by the presence of introns,” CEO and co-founder Kärt Tomberg told FirstWord. “While introns are chopped out of the final message (misleading many to assume they are not relevant) they leave a trace behind on the RNA molecule both as direct modifications and as proteins bound to it. These markings improve the RNA export and stability profile and help the cell to recognise itself from other RNAs made by viruses, jumping genes, et cetera.”Wednesday’s financing, co-led by Octopus Ventures and redalpine, will enable ExpressionEdits to begin developing a pipeline of protein-based therapeutics and select lead candidates for preclinical testing. The biotech will initially focus on recombinant proteins that currently can’t be produced in a scalable fashion. For example, some recombinant proteins aren’t able to be synthesised in a lab and must be derived from human plasma.“This dependency on plasma brings with it risks such as the potential transmission of diseases and a fragile supply chain, heavily reliant on a substantial number of donors; thousands of donors are required to provide enough plasma for just one patient’s annual treatment,” Tomberg explained. “To unlock the full therapeutic potential of these proteins, there is a critical need for investment and innovation in recombinant expression techniques, aiming for safer, more stable, and sustainable therapeutic protein production.”AI-enabled designTo overcome these shortcomings with protein production, ExpressionEdits developed its AI-powered Genetic Syntax Engine to strategically incorporate multiple short introns into transgenes. By analysing millions of biological data points with machine learning algorithms, the computational gene editing platform can predict and redesign transgenes to achieve optimal protein expression across therapeutic modalitiesThe technology can prioritise specific transgene properties, which the company says can enable the production of therapeutic proteins that have historically been challenging to make.Additionally, ExpressionEdits is actively seeking collaborators to explore the potential of its Genetic Syntax Engine within the gene therapy space, as the platform is “ideally positioned to support gene therapy optimization, boosting potency and precision without altering core designs,” Tomberg said.