Prof Giovanni Stracquadanio

Giovanni is a Professor (Chair) of Engineering Biology, EPSRC fellow, Deputy Director of the Centre for Engineering Biology, and co-director of the Edinburgh Genome Foundry (EGF) at the University of Edinburgh. 

His group is interested in unveiling the genetics and molecular mechanisms leading to diseases to design next-generation therapeutics using two of the most disruptive technologies available: engineering biology and artificial intelligence.

His group is currently focused on developing next-generation enzyme replacement therapies for Lysosomal Storage Diseases (LSD), to deliver more effective and sustainable treatments to Fabry disease patients.

Giovanni is also the co-founder and CEO of ZYTHERA, an early-stage start-up developing next-generation enzyme replacement therapies for lysosomal storage diseases. 

AI protein engineering to design effective ERTs

Enzyme Replacement Therapies (ERTs) have been available for many years for the treatment of specific lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs). Many ERTS have been transformative treatments. However, their use is curtailed by limited bioavailability, immunogenicity and high cost, and some LSDs have no treatments at all. Frequency of  infusions and infusion-related-reactions convey a significant treatment burden to patients. We use AI-driven protein engineering to design de-immunized and highly potent enzyme replacement therapies, using a high-throughput screening and production workflow to screen hundreds of potential candidates in vitro, before validating in vivo. This aims to design more effective enzymes, allowing for reduced dosing, which are less immunogenic. Importantly, this platform is disease agnostic, with the potential to rapidly design multiple different enzymes in a much more cost-effective manner.