On 18 January, during a ceremonial evening at the Prague Planetarium, the Neuron Foundation announced the laureates of its awards honoring outstanding Czech scientists for 2025. The Award for Connecting Science and Business was presented to the Czech spin-off company Adalid Sciences, founded in 2024 by researchers from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague). Among the company’s founders is František Sedlák, Head of the Laboratory of Theranostics, a joint workplace of IOCB Prague, the Institute of Biochemistry and Experimental Oncology of the First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, and the National Institute for Cancer Research.
Adalid Sciences focuses on the development of unique technologies for gene medicine. Specifically, the company develops second- and third-generation lipid nanoparticles for the safe and efficient delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids (such as mRNA, siRNA, DNA, and CRISPR/Cas systems) into target cells, tissues, or organs of patients. “Our research team designed a family of lipid nanoparticles with optimized chemical and biological properties that act as sophisticated molecular couriers. They protect therapeutic nucleic acids from degradation and ensure their delivery to target cells and organs. They are highly efficient, show no measurable toxicity, and can be used with different types of nucleic acids,” explains František Sedlák.
Crucially, these couriers are not merely passive carriers protecting the therapeutic payload. Their chemical design is optimized to interact selectively and efficiently with specific target cells, which is essential for their clinical application.
Adalid Sciences employs unique patented ionizable adamantane-based lipids that enable effective complexation of various nucleic acids, their transport, and, most importantly, precise targeting. These properties fundamentally overcome the limitations of conventional lipid-based systems. At the same time, the company continues to further develop its technologies and expand its patent portfolio, thereby increasing their potential applications in gene medicine.
The technologies developed by Adalid Sciences have the potential to enhance the efficacy and safety of gene therapy in the treatment of inherited disorders, cancer, spinal muscular atrophy, haemophilia, and other diseases in which therapeutic nucleic acid intervention provides clinical benefit. They also significantly facilitate the development of preventive vaccines based on RNA technologies, as well as precisely targeted therapies with lower toxicity.
The technologies developed by Adalid Sciences are currently in the preclinical testing phase, and discussions are underway with potential commercial partners and pharmaceutical companies.
Photo: Neuron Foundation
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- Foto: Nadace Neuron
