Andelyn Biosciences and Broad Institute of MIT Enter into License Agreement to include MyoAAV Plasmids in AAV Platform

Editor's note: this story was originally published on BioPharmInternational.com.

Andelyn Biosciences, a patient-focused cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization, announced on Aug. 6, 2024 that it has entered into a license agreement with the Broad Institute of MIT to include MyoAAV plasmids in its AAV Curator Platform, which expands the platform’s offerings.

Under the agreement, Andelyn will have use of the MyoAAV plasmids to perform research and development services for clients who are developing gene therapies. Andelyn will screen potential candidates and perform scale-up and pre-clinical development work to prepare for investigational new drug-enabling studies. The agreement also gives Andelyn permission to sublicense the MyoAAV plasmids to its clients for internal research purposes.

The MyoAAV plasmids were developed by researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. They are a new family of plasmids that produce adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) ten times more efficient in reaching muscle tissue and targeting the liver than wild-type vectors, according to a company press release. “With more precise targeting of muscle tissue, research shows MyoAAV-delivered therapies may require lower dosing,” Andelyn stated in the press release.

Andelyn will utilize its expertise in translational drug development to bring Broad's new class of engineered AAVs to biotech organizations as they target diseases in therapeutic areas with significant unmet need. The company expects that the new AAVs will ultimately reduce the effective dose demand while improving product safety.

“Our license from the Broad Institute furthers our goal of providing the industry access to critical tools and capabilities that facilitate the development of innovative therapies to bring more treatments to more patients. With access to the increased specificity of MyoAAVs, our clients now have the opportunity to maximize efficiency in their gene therapy processes and drive down the cost per patient,” said Matt Niloff, chief commercial officer of Andelyn, in the press release.

In May 2023, Andelyn was selected to manufacture AAV therapies using its Curator Platform under the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium (BGTC) (1).

CIRM established a partnership with Andelyn to advance BGTC’s goal of developing platforms and standards that will drive the development and delivery of customized or “bespoke” gene therapies for rare diseases. BGTC is focused on developing cures for eight such rare diseases. Andelyn’s role will be to optimize and scale the AAV gene therapy processes for treating congenital hereditary endothelial dystrophy–type 1.

“As a long-standing pioneer in AAV gene therapies and historical connection to the clinic, we have great synergies with the CIRM/BGTC. Andelyn is privileged to work with the CIRM/BGTC on its first AMP established specifically for rare disease and leverage our AAV Curator Platform to help overcome the major obstacles related to developing gene therapies,” Niloff stated in a company press release (1).

Reference

1. Andelyn Biosciences. Andelyn Biosciences Selected as Viral Vector Manufacturing Partner for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium (BGTC). Press Release, May 23, 2024.

Source: Andelyn Biosciences