Type Public limited company Founded 2005 (2005) Area served Worldwide | Industry Biotechnology Number of locations 4 Number of employees 250 | |
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Key people Darrin Disley (CEO), Ian Gilham (Chairman of Board of Directors, 2014) Stock price HZD (LON) 167.00 GBX +1.50 (+0.91%)14 Mar, 5:33 PM GMT - Disclaimer CEO Darrin M Disley (Jul 2007–) Headquarters Waterbeach, United Kingdom Founders Chris Torrance, Alberto Bardelli Profiles | ||
Horizon discovery group plc acquires haplogen genomics gmbh
Horizon Discovery Group plc (LSE: HZD) ("Horizon"), is a world-leading gene editing company that designs and engineers genetically modified cells and then applies them in research and clinical applications that advance human health.
Contents
- Horizon discovery group plc acquires haplogen genomics gmbh
- Horizon discovery group plc to acquire combinatorx service business and assets from zalicus inc
- Gene Editing
- Businesses
- References
Horizon builds human disease models and reagents derived from genetically-engineered cells that its customers use, or that are deployed on their behalf to: gain knowledge of the genetic drivers of disease; develop novel drugs or cell therapies targeted at these genetic drivers; and develop companion diagnostics that predict patient response in the clinic. In this way they apply genetic knowledge to provide biological insights that translate to improved research and development outcomes for drug developers and treatment regimens that better serve patients.
Horizon has an international customer base of over 1,400 unique organisations across more than 50 countries, including major pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic companies as well as leading academic research centers. The Group supplies its products and services into a range of markets, estimated to be worth over £29 billion in 2015.
Horizon is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market under the ticker “HZD”.
Horizon discovery group plc to acquire combinatorx service business and assets from zalicus inc
Gene Editing
Gene editing is the process by which specific changes are made to the sequence of a gene within the context of a host cell. By editing the code of a patient-derived cell to introduce or repair a genetic change believed to drive disease, a patient’s disease can be reproduced in a laboratory setting, letting researchers ask important biological questions of potential drugs or cell therapies earlier in the drug discovery process.
Tremendous research efforts have gone into identifying and refining the tools used to generate engineered human cell lines. These fall into two categories based on their biological approach:
Each technology has its own features and strengths and it is these differences that make each best suited for addressing different gene-editing challenges.
Horizon has taken a ‘technology agnostic’ approach, developing deep experience and taking multiple licenses for rAAV, CRISPR and ZFNs, letting the company choose the right approach for any project.
Through its gene editing platform, Horizon is able to alter genes in virtually any human or mammalian cell line. Based on this, Horizon now offers over 23,000 cell line pairs that accurately model the mutations found in genetically based diseases.
These ‘patients-in-a-test-tube’ are being used directly by customers, or by Horizon on their behalf, to identify the effect of individual or compound genetic mutations on drug activity, patient responsiveness, and resistance, which may lead to the successful prediction of which patient sub-groups will respond to currently available and future drug treatments.
Once built, engineered cells can also act as product manufacturing engines, yielding related cell and reagent products that can be used by customers as research tools or molecular diagnostic reference standards or as a means to generate advanced in vivo models, or even as factories for the manufacturing of protein-based therapeutics.
In this way, the cells power Horizon’s entire business of Products, Services and high value Research Biotech initiatives.
Businesses
Horizon operates through three business units; Products, Services and Research Biotech. Products and Services are offered under the following brands: