Release Therapeutics wins Innosuisse grant for Sanfilippo program

Release Therapeutics has received a CHF 500,000 Innosuisse Innovation Project grant to advance its encapsulated cell technology for Sanfilippo syndrome type IIIA, in partnership with the University of Geneva. The 24-month preclinical program expands the Swiss company’s platform into a second rare CNS indication after recent approval of the first disease-modifying therapy for the disorder.

Why it matters: - The grant gives Release Therapeutics non-dilutive funding to push a new rare-disease program toward preclinical proof of concept. - The project targets Sanfilippo syndrome type IIIA, a severe childhood neurodegenerative disease with limited treatment options. - The work could help broaden access to disease-modifying treatment and reduce the burden of repeated dosing.

What happened: - Release Therapeutics won a CHF 500,000 Innovation Project grant from Innosuisse, the Swiss Innovation Agency. - The award comes through an academic-industry partnership with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva. - The 24-month program will support preclinical development of Release Therapeutics’ proprietary encapsulated cell technology for Sanfilippo syndrome type IIIA, also known as mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA or MPS IIIA. - The program marks the company’s second therapeutic indication based on the platform.

The details: - MPS IIIA is an ultra-rare lysosomal storage disorder that causes progressive neurodegeneration and severe cognitive decline, with symptoms generally beginning in early childhood. - The disease stems from inherited deficiency of sulfamidase, or SGSH, which leads to toxic heparan sulfate buildup in the central nervous system. - Until recently, treatment was limited to supportive care, and patients typically progressed to profound neurological disability and death by around age 15. - In September 2026, FAYUVI became the first disease-modifying therapy approved for patients with preserved neurodevelopmental function, validating SGSH restoration as a therapeutic strategy. - The Innosuisse-funded program will advance Myo-P5A, a living implant designed to deliver SGSH continuously to the CNS. - Release Therapeutics and UNIGE aim to show that a subcutaneously implanted cell-encapsulation device can provide sustained, therapeutically relevant SGSH exposure in the brain. - The approach is designed to combine continuous enzyme production with delivery across the blood-brain barrier. - The company says the implant could allow treatment to be discontinued, replaced or adjusted over time. - The platform is designed to shift enzyme therapy away from intermittent dosing and toward continuous in vivo production. - Myo-P5A builds on the company’s proprietary encapsulated cell technology developed with UNIGE and Geneva University Hospitals. - The platform pairs genetically engineered immortalized human myoblasts with the Myo-Pod, a patented biocompatible macroencapsulation implant no larger than a pin. - The device’s semipermeable membrane allows selective, bidirectional diffusion of therapeutic proteins and nutrients while isolating the cells from the host immune system. - Preclinical studies have shown biocompatibility and sustained therapeutic protein delivery in vivo for more than 10 months.

Between the lines: - The funding signals outside confidence in Release Therapeutics’ translational approach after strong preclinical results with its lead program, Myo-P4. - The collaboration with UNIGE suggests the company is trying to de-risk a challenging CNS delivery problem by pairing implant engineering with academic disease expertise. - The timing matters because the first approved therapy for MPS IIIA could create a clearer clinical benchmark for comparing new delivery strategies.

What's next: - Release Therapeutics and UNIGE will use the 24-month program to generate preclinical proof of concept for sustained SGSH delivery to the CNS. - The partners will evaluate whether the implant-based approach can provide a differentiated long-term option for children with MPS IIIA. - Release Therapeutics is also advancing its lead program in preclinical development for metachromatic leukodystrophy, another rare childhood CNS disease.

The bottom line: - Release Therapeutics is using Innosuisse backing to expand its implant-based protein delivery platform from one rare neurological disease to another, with MPS IIIA as the next test case.