Date: 2012-05-16
Type of information: Production agreement
Compound: adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors for gene therapy
Company: Lonza (Switzerland) Avalanche Biotechnologies (USA)
Therapeutic area:
Type agreement: manufacturing
production
Action mechanism: gene therapy
Disease:
Details: Avalanche Biotechnologies, a leader in the area of long-term protein delivery for ocular diseases, and Lonza, a global leader in the field of biologics manufacturing, have announced a manufacturing collaboration focused on process development and scale-up efforts for the manufacturing of adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors for gene therapy. AAV vectors are rapidly becoming one of the most promising gene delivery vehicles for the treatment of various diseases including inherited retinal disorders, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), hemophilia B, congestive heart failure, Parkinson’s disease and others. As part of the agreement, Avalanche and Lonza will make the technology available to third parties and share in the revenue. The Avalanche/Lonza manufacturing collaboration will focus on the development and high-yield production of AAV vectors based on a novel technology that uses stable baculovirus. This technology was licensed by Avalanche from Virovek, who will also play a key role in the collaboration. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Founded in 2006, Avalanche Biotechnologies, Inc., is a privately held biotechnology company that develops technologies and products for sustained delivery of therapeutic proteins to the eye to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as well as other ophthalmologic disorders. Avalanche’s BioFactory™ technology is a proprietary drug delivery system which uses the body\'s own cells to produce therapeutic proteins on an ongoing basis following a single injection. This, in effect, creates a \"BioFactory” in the patient\'s eye to treat ocular diseases, including wet AMD.
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