Researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital will, through this new initiative, edit patients’ own blood-forming stem cells to treat congenital immune deficiencies caused by genetic errors. The goal is to correct these genetic defects and restore a functioning immune system.

The treatment involves so-called autologous transplantation, where the patient's own stem cells are first genetically modified and then reintroduced into the body.

“Support from the Innovation Fund Denmark is crucial to our efforts to translate research from the lab to patient care. We now have the opportunity to take a significant step toward offering personalized treatments to patients who have so far had limited treatment options,” says Chief Medical Officer and Clinical Associate Professor Bjarne K. Møller.

The GENESCURE project will run for three years and involves an interdisciplinary team from both the Department of Biomedicine and the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University, along with several clinical departments at Aarhus University Hospital.

The project is anchored at the PASCAL-MID research center and builds on several years of work with, among other things, CRISPR/Cas technology and stem cell expansion - methods that enable high-precision gene editing.

Contact

Clinical Associate Professor and Chief Medical Officer Bjarne K. Møller
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and
Aarhus University Hospital, Center for Gene and Cell Therapy
Phone: +45 7845 5000
Email: bjmoel@rm.dk

Professor Jacob Giehm Mikkelsen
Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University
Phone: +45 2361 7253
Email: giehm@biomed.au.dk

Based on press material from the Innovation Fund Denmark