Strategic partnership signed for adeno-associated virus services

A strategic partnership has been signed between SIRION Biotech and Vibalogics for the development of a new service offering (available from the beginning of 2018) that will allow the companies to cater for start-to-finish adeno-associated virus (AAV) service.

Under the terms of the partnership, SIRION Biotech will provide specialist AAV technology and Vibalogics will act as its production partner for customers ready to progress to clinical trials.

“This step will allow us to offer one of the most versatile and complete AAV services packages in the world and meet demand for a more streamlined development and supply process,” revealed Dr Christian Thirion, CTO and founder of SIRION Biotech. “We are looking forward to a partnership that will empower gene therapy companies to make sure that ingenious new treatments get to the patient without delay.”

Additionally, the companies will establish new stringent quality levels for pre-clinical virus batches that will emulate Vibalogics’ GMP production methods. This strategy will ensure that pre-clinical research can be conducted with fully scalable products at ‘GMP-like’ quality, while maintaining cost and time efficiency.

“We are delighted to enter into this partnership and be in a position to offer our customers a broader service than we can offer alone,” added Dr Stefan Beyer, managing director of Vibalogics. “We believe that this is a great opportunity for companies in the AAV field to benefit from a seamless transition from pre-clinical activities to clinical manufacturing.”

SIRION Biotech is a virus engineering expert specialising in viral vector technologies. Vibalogics offers GMP manufacturing and development services for the biopharmaceutical industry and specialises in the handling and manufacture of viruses and live bacterial products for therapeutic and prophylactic applications.