VectorY and Wageningen Univ collaborate on AAV gene therapies with lower cost

Dutch biotech firm VectorY Therapeutics, which is focussed on the development of innovative gene therapy approaches for the treatment of muscular and neurodegenerative disorders through vectorized antibodies, today announced a collaboration with Wageningen University to develop novel baculovirus-based technologies for the production of safe and affordable AAV gene therapies.

One of the most important challenges for the gene therapy industry is to develop robust and scalable manufacturing processes that yield safe therapies. VectorY, together with its partner Wageningen University, is making an important strategic investment in these therapies of the future, by developing a production platform capable of successfully manufacturing safe products at a significant lower COGS. The collaboration represents an important step to enable the medical and economical feasibility of gene therapy for diseases that affect larger patient populations.

Under the terms of the collaboration, the Bioprocess Engineering and Virology Groups at Wageningen University and VectorY Therapeutics will work together on two projects. One will utilize the molecular toolbox to generate innovative stable baculovirus genome seeds for AAV production at large scale. The second will focus on the design and evaluation of an intensified and scalable baculovirus production process in bioreactors using state of the art bioprocess technologies.