Cell and gene therapy CDMO eXmoor Pharma has entered into a strategic partnership with KU Leuven, to support a new cell and gene therapy hub.
The collaboration brings together complementary scientific, regulatory and manufacturing capabilities to accelerate innovative cell and gene therapies from bench to first-in-human trials.
The partnership will mainly centre around the development of adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapies, which will incorporate intellectual property owned by KU Leuven.
The cell and gene therapy hub was recently established by KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven as a translational vehicle for their most promising gene therapy assets.
The Trellis Research Group, part of KU Leuven and led by Principal Investigator Els Henckaerts, will play a key role as the AAV innovation partner.
The collaboration will span four key areas:
- Joint AAV cell line development: The co-development research collaboration aims to create an AAV producer cell line, which will be deployed for KU Leuven and eXmoor clients
- Strategic consultancy: eXmoor's integrated consultancy team will support KU Leuven across all translational and technical planning activities, ensuring early scientific designs aligns with GMP requirements
- Platform process development: eXmoor and Trellis will collaborate to build a scalable AAV platform using KU Leuven's licensed intellectual property. The former will be responsible for process development, technology transfer and GMP production
- PD and GMP manufacturing support: eXmoor will support the new hub by offering its process development and GMP manufacturing expertise and provision.
“This partnership embodies the spirit of collaboration that is so essential in cell and gene therapy development," noted Angela Osborne, CEO of eXmoor Pharma.
"By uniting KU Leuven’s academic leadership, Trellis’ scientific innovation and eXmoor’s development and manufacturing expertise, we are creating a launchpad for next-generation therapies. Our aim is to give this new cell and gene therapy hub the best possible start by aligning strategy, science and scalability from day one.”
Els Henckaerts, Principal Investigator and Head of the Trellis Research Group at KU Leuven, said: “Gene therapy holds immense promise for transforming the lives of patients. Over the years, our lab has worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between academic innovation and real-world therapeutic applications."
"This partnership with a leading CDMO represents the final critical step in our mission to streamline the path from discovery to clinical impact, ensuring that our advanced AAV vector technologies can reach patients more efficiently and effectively”.