Other Development Programs
Select a program below to learn more
Lineage is developing several additional product candidates which cover a range of therapeutic areas. These product candidates are based on the same pluripotent platform technology and employ a similar guided cell differentiation and transplant approach as our current clinical-stage products. Read more about these programs below:
ANP1 (ReSonance™) - Auditory Neurons
ANP1 (ReSonance™) is an auditory neuronal progenitor cell therapy for the potential treatment of auditory neuropathy, currently being developed through a multi-year research collaboration with and through an investment from William Demant Invest A/S (WDI). WDI is an evergreen investor and the holding company for William Demant Foundation’s investment activities – a majority shareholder of the world-leading hearing healthcare company, Demant A/S.
WDI will fund up to $12 million in research collaboration costs over the period, with development activities jointly conducted and managed by Lineage and scientists from Eriksholm Research Centre, part of Oticon A/S, which is a subsidiary of the Demant Group. The research collaboration covers preclinical development activities, including cell manufacturing, proof-of-concept studies, translational/functional models, delivery development, outcome measures, regulatory strategy, and market analysis, to support a potential IND/CTA filing.
PNC1 - Photoreceptors
PNC1, an allogeneic photoreceptor cell transplant currently in preclinical development for the treatment of vision loss due to photoreceptor dysfunction or damage.
RND1 - Neurology
RND1 is a novel hypoimmune pluripotent stem cell (“iPSC”) cell line being developed in collaboration with Factor Bioscience Inc. (“Factor”), which we intend to evaluate for differentiation into cell transplant product candidates for central nervous system (“CNS”) diseases and other neurology indications.
In 2023, we entered into an option and license agreement with Factor to develop engineered hypoimmune iPSC lines that we will evaluate for differentiation into cell transplant product candidates for CNS diseases and other neurology indications. We believe this collaboration allows us to leverage our expertise to develop innovative cell transplant therapies by capitalizing on the convergence of directed cell differentiation and manufacturing with modern gene editing technology. This is reflective of a portion of our corporate strategy which aims to capitalize on our process development capabilities by combining them with cell engineering and editing technologies to create novel cell therapies with potentially superior product profiles compared to currently marketed therapies, if any.
In September 2023, we announced the initiation of certain development activities to generate a novel iPSC line under our agreement with Factor and our selection of specific gene edits for the initial cell line to be developed by Factor. The edits include: the targeted deletion of the B2M gene, designed to reduce the immunogenicity of product candidates derived from the lines by inhibiting rejection by CD8+ T cells; the targeted insertion of the HLA-E gene, designed to overexpress HLA-E and prevent the allogeneic NK cell response; and a third undisclosed edit intended to confer clinical differentiation and a competitive advantage in the applicable indications. We expect that these edits may expand the edited cell lines’ overall utility, including for non-immune privileged or non-human leukocyte antigen (“HLA”) matched indications and may further differentiate the cell line from others currently in use by competitors.
ILT1 - Pancreatic
ILT1 is an islet cell transplant program in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Islet cells are pancreatic cells that produces hormones such as insulin and glucagon that are secreted into the bloodstream, which help to control the level of glucose in the blood.
The company aims to deploy its manufacturing capability to address the issue of large-scale production of islet cells, with the initial goal of establishing a production modality that can support the entire production process in a dynamic culturing system, potentially solving a major hurdle to commercialization of islet cell therapy product candidates.
T1D is a chronic autoimmune condition in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, people with T1D are unable to produce insulin, a hormone essential for regulating blood sugar levels. This leads to high blood glucose, which can cause serious health complications if not managed properly. T1D is usually diagnosed in children, teens, or young adults, but it can develop at any age. Unlike type 2 diabetes, T1D is not caused by lifestyle factors and cannot be prevented. Management requires lifelong insulin therapy through injections or a pump, along with careful monitoring of blood sugar, diet, and physical activity. According to Breakthrough T1D, the leading global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization, there are more than 9.5 million people living with type 1 diabetes around the world, and it is one of the fastest growing, noncommunicable, chronic health conditions on the planet.