- Minaris and Asimov have entered into a partnership to combine Minaris’ OXGENE viral vector technology with Asimov’s synthetic biology platform to develop higher-performing producer cell lines for AAV gene therapy manufacturing.
- The collaboration aims to address manufacturing challenges associated with transient AAV production, including cost, scalability and product quality consistency.
Minaris and Asimov have announced a partnership to enable higher-performing producer cell lines for the production of adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapies. The collaboration will combine Minaris’ OXGENE technology for advanced viral vector development with Asimov’s synthetic biology capabilities and AAV Edge producer cell line system.
Through OXGENE, Minaris’ center of excellence for advanced viral vector technology development, the company provides optimization and engineering technology for AAV and lentiviral vector manufacturability. Under the agreement, Asimov will incorporate Minaris’ proprietary OXGENE technology into its toolkit for AAV Edge producer cell lines. The companies said the collaboration is intended to support the development of production systems for AAV gene therapies.
The companies said many AAV programs currently rely on transient production, which requires multiple GMP plasmids to be transfected in each manufacturing batch. According to Minaris and Asimov, this approach can increase costs, limit scalability and contribute to variability in product quality. Developing stable AAV production systems has also presented challenges because of the complexity and interdependency of viral genetics.
Asimov’s AAV Edge Stable Producer System uses genetic design capabilities to develop high-titer, clonal producer cell lines. The partnership will add Minaris’ technology to Asimov’s existing genetic design toolkit. Minaris will contribute its viral vector development and manufacturing capabilities through OXGENE and its broader development, manufacturing and testing services.
“Stable producer cell lines are a key technology to enable AAV gene therapies at scale, and we are excited to partner with Minaris to unlock a new level of performance for our AAV Edge system. The companies said the agreement supports their work to develop production systems for the next generation of gene therapies.”
Raja Srinivas, Co-Founder at Asimov
