Sigilon Therapeutics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced a strategic research collaboration. The collaboration leverages cutting-edge synthetic biology approaches developed by professor Ron Weiss of the MIT Synthetic Biology Center. This alliance will further advance Sigilon’s development of programmable cell therapeutics for hemophilia, lysosomal storage diseases and other serious chronic diseases building upon foundational research from the laboratories of professors Robert Langer and Dan Anderson at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, a pioneering center for collaborative, interdisciplinary research. Under the terms of the agreement, the Weiss lab will perform chromosomal site-specific engineering of Sigilon’s proprietary cells to insert genetic circuits encoding therapeutic proteins. Specifically, the collaboration will include employing Landing Pad technology developed by the Weiss lab, a novel approach which allows for controllable and reproducible insertion of large amounts of synthetic DNA into stable genomic sites that support long-term gene expression. This sophisticated cell engineering will enable the development of the next generation of novel programmed Shielded Living Therapeutics.