Cure Genetics partners with Boehringer Ingelheim in gene therapy initiative

January 20, 2021

Alliance strives to develop novel AAV vectors

Cure Genetics will collaborate with pharma company Boehringer Ingelheim to form novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, which will use Cure Genetics' branded VELP platform to develop gene therapies. The new partnership combines Boehringer Ingelheim's disease biology and gene therapy development experience with Cure Genetics' AAV knowledge in library construction and in vivo AAV screening.

The aim is to potentially uncover new AAV serotypes for patients, as Cure Genetics notes that the clinical applications of current AAV serotypes could offer limitations, such as low transduction efficiency, low tissue specificity and immunogenicity.

VELP features various modes of innovation, including a strategy of building a plasmid library with high complexity and an effective ratio. The AAV production protocol allows for high genome-capsid correspondence and quality production capacity. It also allows for a shorter process to find the proper AAV vectors with nearly all possibilities effectively covered, Cure Genetics states.