Funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) titled, “Humanization of ACE2 and Associated Priming Proteases in New Mouse Models for Downstream Disease and Therapy Investigations of COVID-19”
Ronkonkoma, NY; January 4, 2021: ingenious targeting laboratory announced today that it has received a federal grant award entitled, “Humanization of ACE2 and Associated Priming Proteases in New Mouse Models for Downstream Disease and Therapy Investigations of COVID-19,” including a subaward to NYU Langone Health. The Phase I Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) has been awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). ingenious targeting laboratory will utilize the funding to design and develop several genetically-modified mouse models expressing the human ACE2 receptor. These humanized mouse models will be particularly useful to researchers in academia and industry who are working to identify novel therapies and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus that causes COVID-19. The research will be led by Drs. Wei Weng and Thomas Zeyda of ingenious targeting laboratory and is supported by Dr. Kamal Khanna at NYU Langone Health.
The animal models being commercialized by ingenious targeting laboratory will serve as crucial tools to better understand the complex biology of COVID-19. “Our goal is to make these models available to the research community as quickly as possible,” said Thomas Zeyda, Technology Director of ingenious targeting laboratory, adding, “We are happy for this opportunity to contribute our genetic engineering expertise in support of much needed COVID-19 research.”
Paul Sheiffele, President of ingenious targeting laboratory, stated, “The SBIR award is critical to our ability to successfully generate and validate these humanized ACE2 mouse models. We hope that these models will display the severity of human illness so that they are used to fast-track the discovery and pre-clinical evaluation of potential COVID-19 treatments and vaccines for which there is an urgent need.”
Once the mouse models are generated by ingenious targeting laboratory, Dr. Kamal Khanna from NYU Langone Health will work to demonstrate that they recapitulate the COVID-19 disease progression seen in humans. Dr. Khanna stated, “I am very pleased that ingenious targeting laboratory has been able to attract the financial resources from the NIH to develop such an important research tool for COVID-19 research, and I look forward to working closely with their technical team to validate the utility and translatability of these unique mouse models.”
To learn more about ingenious targeting laboratory’s services, please contact us or email us at inquiry@genetargeting.com.
About ingenious targeting laboratory
Since 1998, ingenious targeting laboratory is a leading global provider in generating custom genetically modified mouse, rat, and rabbit models. Each of our models is tailored to the exact needs of our clients for study in the fields of immunology, neuroscience, cancer, and more. We use classic and cutting-edge technologies, such as CRISPR and ES cells, for advanced animal model production. When our clients choose to work with us, they can expect full confidentiality and to retain full intellectual property rights to their projects.
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