On August 25th Bayer and Mass General Brigham launched its Innovation Discovery Grant (IDG) mentorship program, kicking off a program that will connect Bayer mentors to the six 2021 IDG award recipients. At the launch, mentors and mentees introduced themselves and their research interests, followed by a gene and cell therapy (GCT) strategy presentation by Bayer.  A moderated discussion led to conversations about the drug discovery and development process in the GCT field, related topics such as regulatory and patent needs, and other common interests. The 6-month program will connect an assigned mentor from the Bayer CGT team to mentor an IDG recipient starting in September.

Mass General Brigham’s IDG program considered discoveries in all clinical areas that treat a genetic disorder by influencing the structure, expression or inhibition of a gene and gene product(s).  In addition to mentoring, the projects received $100,000 toward ongoing development and future commercialization. The Mass General Brigham faculty receiving this year’s IDG awards are:

• Generating Superior ‘Killers’ for Adoptive Cell Therapy in Cancer, Lydia Lynch, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
• Novel Strategies to Enhance Tfr Treatment of Autoimmunity, Peter Sage, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
• Long-Lasting mRNA Therapy for Genetic Disorders, Jinjun Shi, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
• AAV-Based Gene Replacement Therapy Improves Targeting and Clinical Outcomes in a Childhood CNS Disorder, Yulia Grishchuk, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Towards a Permanent Genetic Cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Benjamin Kleinstiver, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Differentiation of Retinal Neurons for Cell Replacement in Glaucoma, Petr Baranov, MD, PhD, Massachusetts Eye and Ear

To view the Innovation Discovery Grant Program as presented at the 2021 World Medical Innovation Forum, please click here.