From Discovery to Delivery — The Branca Bunús Journey
Every life-changing genetic therapy begins with a reliable delivery technology. Branca Bunús was founded to bridge pioneering academic polymer research and real-world patient treatment outcomes via the proprietary HPAE platform.
From UCD discovery to global gene medicine
Born from Scientific Discovery
The HPAE platform’s roots lie in years of UCD academic research.
Professor Wenxin Wang’s laboratory at University College Dublin pioneered hyperbranched poly(β-amino ester) biodegradable polymer architecture, solving critical safety and efficiency limitations of older gene delivery vectors. This foundational research created the complete blueprint for today’s HPAE platform ecosystem.
The Birth of Branca Bunús (2019)
Dual scientific and entrepreneurial founding aligned around a unified patient-focused mission.
In 2019, Professor Wenxin Wang (biomaterials inventor) and Dr Hongyun Tai (biotech commercial leader) co-founded Branca Bunús with a clear dual vision: advance HPAE polymer science for curative gene medicines, while building validated transfection reagent technology to prove platform manufacturability and real-world functionality.
Building & Validating the Full Platform
Transfection reagent development was a critical platform validation milestone, not an end business target.
Over 2020–2025, BrB engineered the complete BrPERfect reagent line, established internal ISO quality systems, completed FDA DMF filings and validated scalable GMP-compatible manufacturing workflows. This commercial translation phase strengthened our platform’s IP portfolio and industrial expertise, laying the groundwork for our long-term therapeutic pipeline goals.
PolyGene Partnership (2026)
Structured division of focus accelerates both commercial supply and therapeutic R&D.
To unlock global market reach for transfection products, BrB entered an exclusive strategic partnership with PolyGene Biotech. Under this collaboration, PolyGene assumes all global manufacturing, scaling, distribution and end-user technical support responsibilities for the reagent portfolio, while Branca Bunús fully redirects internal resources to in-vivo gene medicine pipeline advancement.
Looking Ahead
The original patient-centric mission remains unchanged through all structural evolution.
Every structural and commercial decision serves one long-term objective: making safe, repeatable, non-viral genetic medicines accessible to patients living with rare inherited disease.
The HPAE platform began in the Wenxin Wang research group at UCD
Over a decade of hyperbranched poly(β-amino ester) research at University College Dublin — carried out in Professor Wenxin Wang's group and at the UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology — created the polymer architecture that Branca Bunús develops today.
Corporate and scientific timeline
Academic discovery phase
HPAE polymer invention
Foundational hyperbranched poly(β-amino ester) research at University College Dublin.
2019
Branca Bunús Ltd founded
Officially founded by Professor Wenxin Wang and Dr Hongyun Tai as a UCD spin-out.
2020–2025
Platform maturation
Reagent product development, ISO and FDA regulatory filings, global client validation.
2026
Exclusive commercial partnership
Strategic commercial partnership established with PolyGene Biotech; technology transfer launch.
Future roadmap
Therapeutic acceleration
Accelerated development of BrB101 / BrB202 rare disease gene therapy programmes and next-generation HPAE polymer iterations.
Scaling and Growing Through Partnerships and Global Expansion
2020
- Start up
- Screening highly-efficient gene vectors
2021
- In vivo and in vitro validation
- Process optimisation and critical quality parameter study
- Patents filing
2022
- Sold R&D materials to PackGene Biotech for the first time
- Launched transfection reagent pipeline
- BrB101 ODD submission
- More patents filing
2023
- Secured the first GMP order in September from OBiO
- Transacted on market: €0.25 million
- Applied in the first IIT project
2024
- Launched the first AAV production at the scale of 50L with our products
- BrB202 ODD submission
- ISO 9001 certification
- DMF ID
2024 Q3 – 2025
- Strategic partnerships
- Global marketing
Strategic partnership
Branca Bunús Ltd and PolyGene Biotech operate as independent entities under a long-term strategic partnership, founded by the HPAE technology inventor Professor Wenxin Wang. BrB retains the ownership of HPAE platform intellectual property and leads therapeutic pipeline development; PolyGene holds exclusive global manufacturing, distribution and commercialisation rights for all transfection reagent lines.
Explore the HPAE Platform
See the polymer science, differentiators and multi-sector applications behind our journey.