Lonza, a global development and manufacturing partner to the pharma, biotech and nutrition industries, has joined the GENEGUT project to develop an innovative functional capsule-based delivery solution for therapies targeting ileal Crohn’s disease (CD), which currently affects up to three million people in Europe, resulting in annual health costs of over 5 billion euros.  
 
The four-year research project, funded by Horizon Europe, aims to develop the first non-invasive oral RNA-based therapy for CD with the long-term vision to develop a first-in-class gene therapy to improve the quality of life for millions of patients. The final therapy will use complementary technologies selectively targeting the immunomodulatory pathways within inflamed intestinal cells residing in specific regions of the small intestine, thereby avoiding systemic side effects.
 
To target the small intestine with an orally-administered therapeutic, Lonza will utilize its novel functional capsule platform technology. A new functional capsule, which can protect its load from stomach acid and release its payload at the end of the small intestine, will be developed at Lonza’s R&D Labs in Colmar (FR). 
 
Capsules are usually developed as a multipurpose standalone delivery system, and their efficacy needs to be clinically tested at a later stage based on the combination with the given active pharmaceutical ingredient. In contrast, Lonza’s participation in the GENEGUT project aims to help develop the first capsule with proven targeted release and compatibility with the formulation ready for clinical evaluation.  
 
Vincent Jannin, associate director, Applications Lab, Capsules & Health Ingredients, Lonza, commented: “Lonza’s participation in this project demonstrates our dedication to unlocking therapeutic innovation through novel capsule solutions. The unique properties of our functional capsule solution will help to address inflammation in the intestinal tissue in a highly targeted way.”
 
Stef Vanquickenborne, vice president, head of Capsules & Health Ingredients Research and Development, Lonza, added: “We are committed to designing innovative capsule-based delivery technologies. Our participation in this research project will enable the development of innovative treatments for patients with unmet medical needs in the field of inflammatory bowel diseases.”