May 11, 2021 – by: Victoria Johnson
The partnership combines Capsigen’s vector engineering with Biogen’s drug pipeline, seeking to develop gene therapies for neuromuscular and central nervous system disorders.
Biogen and Capsigen have announced a collaboration to develop novel adeno-associated viral (AAV) capsids to deliver gene therapies to treat various central nervous system (CNS) and neuromuscular disorders.1
Capsids are the protein coat that protect and facilitate delivery of the AAV genetic payload to its target in host cells. The partnership aims to combine Capsigen’s experience in capsid engineering with Biogen’s discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization capabilities to accelerate delivery of gene therapies. These novel capsids will be designed to meet highly customized, disease-specific transduction profiles.
“Through this collaboration, we aim to solve key technological challenges in the delivery of gene therapies to target tissues. One of our priorities for technology innovation is the discovery of AAV capsids with improved delivery profiles,” said Alfred Sandrock Jr, MD, PhD, head of research and development, Biogen, in a statement. “We are investing for the long-term by building platform capabilities and advanced manufacturing technologies with the goal of accelerating our efforts in gene therapy.”
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Capsigen brings to the partnership its proprietary TRADE™ platform and associated vector engineering technologies to produce dose optimized, fit-for-purpose vectors to use with Biogen’s gene therapy pipeline. As part of the collaboration, Capsigen will receive a $15 million upfront payment and is eligible to receive up to $42 million in potential research milestone payments as well as up to an additional $1.25 billion in development and commercial milestone payments. The company will also receive royalties in future sales that use its capsid technology.