November 20, 2025

Seek Labs publishes paper demonstrating CRISPR-based therapeutic's effectiveness against ASF

Seek Labs on November 17 announced the publication of a peer-reviewed paper in Viruses (MDPI), revealing the first successful use of a CRISPR-based therapeutic to treat African swine fever (ASF) in pigs.

The findings demonstrate the company's proprietary CRISPR-based therapeutic successfully reduced viremia, enabling recovery and protective immunity in animals infected with a lethal dose of the disease.

The peer-reviewed results from Seek Labs provide compelling evidence that programmable CRISPR-based therapeutics could become a new line of defense against viral outbreaks like ASF, helping safeguard and bolster global food systems.

The study details how Seek Labs' SL_1.52 therapeutic, built on the company's Programmable Target Ablation Platform (PTAP™), uses CRISPR/Cas9 with two guide RNAs to precisely target and disrupt a highly conserved ASF gene essential for viral replication, which was delivered to infected pigs via lipid nanoparticles. SL_1.52 achieved 57% survival and viral clearance in blood within 35 days and lasting protective immunity after re-challenge.

The findings represent the first demonstration of Seek Labs' programmable CRISPR therapeutic treating a viral infection in a natural host. Together, these outcomes validate the company's PTAP platform as a foundation for a rapid, adaptable antiviral modality across animal and human health.

"Our study provides in vivo evidence that CRISPR can function as a direct antiviral against African swine fever virus," said Dr. Douglas Gladue, Vice President of Veterinary Therapeutics at Seek Labs. "By targeting a highly conserved viral polymerase essential for replication, we achieved significant viral reduction and survival in infected swine, which establishes a foundation for developing programmable CRISPR therapeutics as a practical intervention for ASF and other high-consequence viral diseases."

- Seek Labs