Pioneering Composite Programmable Therapeutics

CPTx—composite programmable therapeutics—is what happens when an aspiring pilot turned scientist joined forces with a former firefighter turned nanoengineer to transform theoretical ideas into practical applications for precision medicines.

The company, founded three years ago by CEO Hendrik Dietz and Chief Technology Officer Christian Sigl, is developing a revolutionary platform technology centered on DNA nanofabrication. The company uses multiple DNA strands to build three dimensional structures on the nanometer scale. What’s unique about CPTx’s platform is that it uses DNA not as a vehicle for information storage but as a construction material to rationally design and build artificial nanostructures with nanometer precision and a wide range of applications.

Dietz and Sigl have been developing the technology for many years. Sigl started working in the field of this DNA nanofabrication method during his doctoral studies with Dietz developing the first prototypes of an antiviral platform, that are now further developed at CPTx . Dietz has been working in the field for more than 15 years. By 2009, he was pioneering the creation of three dimensional DNA nanostructures and started his own lab in Munich, to develop the technology. 

“How do we create functional DNA nanostructures? What can we do with it? And how can we produce large quantities of these structures?” Sigl said were questions they asked before starting the company. “There were several milestones that were ticked before we started the company. One was the need for very long single stranded DNA, which very few companies can produce in lengths of multiple thousands of bases and in the required quantities - grams or even kilograms. That’s why we developed our own patented method to produce large amounts of long single-stranded DNA. This is one example that had to be developed during the last 15 years until it made sense to think about a real world application and to start the company.”

CPTx’s technology leverages DNA nanostructures to create precision therapeutics with unparalleled control. By designing and fabricating customizable DNA-based platforms, the company enables the precise spatial arrangement of therapeutic agents. “You could think about this being a completely new class of therapeutics,” says Sigl. “We use the nanofabrication method to build platforms that we modify with small molecules, with proteins, with antibodies, with polymers, with any kind of molecule depending on the specific application. This approach enables us to distribute these modifications in a highly controlled manner. You can also add different kinds of modifications, small molecules and antibodies for example, on the same platform. Essentially, it's a kind of toolbox that allows you to do many, many different things that you couldn't do with existing technologies.”

CPTx’s current focus is the infectious disease space, creating a therapeutic platform to cure virus infections, starting with influenza. The company is building nanometer sized chassis that are armed with a virus-binding molecule to trap virus particles. 

“If you envision covering a virus surface, the virus is neutralized and can no longer infect cells,” Sigl says. “And since viruses can't reproduce independently but require a host cell, breaking the infection is in principle universally applicable to all viruses. This means that the same approach, the same platform can be used to target many different viruses.” 

CPTx’s DNA nanofabrication technology is patent protected, including the platform, the manufacturing, and the application. Until today, CPTx has raised $29 million that allows it to continue filling its pipeline, advance the assets, and  further innovate the platform.

At some stage, Sigl says, partnering with an organization that can support both development and the execution of critical clinical studies may be essential. Sigl sees Bioneex as a valuable platform for engaging with pharma companies and other strategic partners. 

 “I think we have a very exciting technology,” Sigl says. “DNA nanostructures as we design them offer exciting opportunities in a vast range of applications, beyond the infectious disease space.”