The USA-based company is developing innovative gene therapies for retinal diseases by leveraging its computationally-guided scAAVengr platform. The platform generates and validates a toolkit of proprietary AAV vectors that target specific cell types using minimally invasive intravitreal delivery with reduced dosages.

In July 2022, Avista announced a partnership with Swiss pharma giant Roche to develop novel AAV gene therapy vectors for the eyes.

Avista will receive an upfront payment of $7.5 million and, if successful, is eligible to receive additional payments during the research phase of the partnership, as well as clinical and sales milestone payments and royalties for resulting products with a total potential deal value that may exceed $1 billion.