Virica Biotech and Ginkgo Bioworks Announce Partnership to Accelerate AAV Gene Therapy Manufacturing

Today, we’re excited to announce a strategic partnership with Virica Biotech, a leading developer of enhancers for scaling of viral vectors as well as cell and gene therapies, to enhance each company’s adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy manufacturing platforms. This collaboration aims to tackle one of the major barriers to the widespread adoption of AAV-based gene therapies: the high cost of manufacturing.

A combined offering will leverage the advanced capabilities of Ginkgo’s AAV Services for Gene Therapy and Virica’s proprietary VSE™ enhancer platform to offer innovators services and products to enhance AAV production titers and quality to reduce production costs and make gene therapies more accessible to patients.

"Our collaboration with Virica Biotech aligns perfectly with Ginkgo’s mission to provide innovative solutions to the gene therapy industry. We’re excited to combine our proprietary HEKMo cell line, along with our proprietary innovations in plasmid engineering, with the exciting addition of VSEs. By integrating our high-throughput screening capabilities with Virica’s proprietary VSEs, we are well-positioned to drive down the costs of AAV manufacturing and provide a unique one-stop solution to our partners." - Narendra Maheshri, VP, Genetic Medicines, Ginkgo Bioworks

"Partnering with Ginkgo allows us to expand our capacity by leveraging their advanced screening and manufacturing capabilities, which are critical for rapidly identifying the most effective combination of VSEs for AAV production. This partnership will enhance our ability to bring high-impact VSE solutions to market faster and also reinforces our commitment to improving the accessibility of gene therapies worldwide." - Jean-Simon Diallo, CEO of Virica Biotech

Virica Biotech, a pioneer in the development of small molecule enhancers known as Viral Sensitizers (VSETMs), will license and provide to Ginkgo a panel of VSEs for use in high-throughput AAV production screening for Ginkgo’s clients. Ginkgo’s advanced screening platform allows for rapid testing of VSEs directly in clients’ cell lines, providing valuable insights into how these molecules will perform at larger scales. The synergistic impact of VSEs with cell line modifications, novel plasmid constructs, and optimal bioprocess will provide our partners with a holistic solution to enhance AAV production efficiency.

Recently, Ginkgo successfully completed a collaboration with Biogen to boost the productivity of their gene therapy manufacturing platform. The Ginkgo-Virica partnership further highlights our comprehensive approach to solving complex challenges in the AAV gene therapy space. 

Make AAV gene therapies more accessible. Learn more about Ginkgo AAV Services for Gene Therapy and how we can help you optimize your manufacturing processes here, or come meet our teams at the Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa next week.

Posted by Narendra Maheshri