- Ascend Advanced Therapies has released performance data on two proprietary manufacturing enhancers that increase adeno-associated virus (AAV) yields by up to threefold while maintaining product quality.
- The company plans to integrate the technology across its clinical manufacturing workflows and license it to the wider industry.
Ascend Advanced Therapies has released new data showing that two proprietary manufacturing enhancers deliver a substantial increase in adeno-associated virus (AAV) production yields without affecting product quality. The enhancers were tested across multiple scales in HEK293 cells using both Ascend’s EpyQ® two-plasmid AAV Production System and a commercially available three-plasmid system.
According to the company, Enhancer 1 produced up to threefold higher AAV yields using EpyQ® in Ambr®15 systems, and 1.7-fold higher yields in the three-plasmid system at Ambr®15 and 2L scales. Enhancer 2 achieved up to 2.4-fold higher AAV yields with EpyQ® at Ambr®15 scale, and 2.1-fold improvements at Ambr®250 and 5L bioreactor scales. The findings were further validated in external experiments by a third party exploring licensing opportunities.
“Improving AAV productivity without compromising product quality is one of the most persistent challenges in gene therapy manufacturing. This enhancer represents a meaningful step forward — not just for our internal platform, but for our partners who depend on scalable and reliable AAV manufacturing.”Dr Markus Hörer, Chief Scientific Officer at Ascend Advanced Therapies
Dr Alessandra Rispoli, Chief Executive Officer of Ascend Advanced Therapies, added that the results strengthen the company’s position as a science-led CDMO, capable of delivering higher yield, reduced cost per dose, and faster scalability for customers.
Ascend plans to integrate the new enhancer technology across its process development and clinical manufacturing workflows, enabling partners to access more cost-efficient, high-quality AAV vectors. The company also intends to license the enhancers to the broader gene therapy manufacturing industry in the coming months.
