4D Molecular Therapeutics Announces Collaboration on Leading Machine Learning Technology and Expertise from U.C. Berkeley to Expand Therapeutic Vector Evolution Platform

EMERYVILLE, Calif., May 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 4D Molecular Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FDMT), a clinical-stage gene therapy company harnessing the power of directed evolution for targeted gene therapies, announced a new collaboration with investigators at the University of California, Berkeley focused on expanding the vector invention power of 4DMT’s Therapeutic Vector Evolution platform by applying machine learning technology to the AAV vector capsid datasets generated from 4DMT’s platform. This research will be conducted with Jennifer Listgarten, Ph.D., a global leader in machine learning and computational biology, and David Schaffer, Ph.D., a global leader in AAV directed evolution and gene therapy. Dr. Listgarten is a Professor in U.C. Berkeley’s Center for Computational Biology, the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research Lab and the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. Prior to her current positions, she held leadership roles in machine learning within Microsoft Research for approximately 10 years. Dr. Schaffer is Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Molecular and Cell Biology and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at U.C. Berkeley. He is also Co-founder, Director and Chief Scientific Advisor at 4DMT.

“This cross-functional collaboration with world leaders in machine learning and AAV gene therapy technologies gives us the potential to dramatically expand the depth and breadth of targeted and evolved vectors invented through our Therapeutic Vector Evolution platform, significantly expanding our leading vector patent and product portfolios. 4DMT’s industry-leading AAV capsid libraries encompass over one billion synthetic capsid sequences. To our knowledge, we have the largest capsid biodistribution datasets in the world as a result of the over 15 vector selection programs we have conducted in non-human primates,” said David Kirn, M.D., Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of 4DMT. “This partnership with Drs. Listgarten and Schaffer empowers 4DMT to dramatically expand our bioinformatics capabilities, enabling us to identify even more promising vectors both within, and even beyond, our existing libraries. This partnership reaffirms our commitment to relentless innovation in order to bring cures to patients.”