Sanofi partners with SIRION to improve AAV capsids for gene therapy treatments

SIRION Biotech has signed a license and collaboration with Sanofi to develop improved adeno-associated virus capsids for gene therapy treatments for disorders affecting major human organs.

Sanofi, working with SIRION Biotech and professor Dirk Grimm, a scientist in the field of AAV biology and application working at Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany, will combine their technology platforms to create next-generation AAV vectors.

As part of the collaboration, the partners will aim to develop new and modified AAV capsids with a safe product profile and improved specificity, with higher gene delivery efficiency.

“Leveraging our expertise in virus-based vaccine and viral vector manufacturing together with professor Grimm's cutting-edge AAV capsid evolution technology and SIRION's expertise and capabilities in AAV vector manufacturing will allow us to better address unmet medical needs and open new frontiers for drug discovery in genomic medicine,” said Christian Mueller, global head of genomic medicine at Sanofi.

“We believe that through this exclusive partnership with Sanofi within these large disease fields, AAV-based gene therapies will provide novel treatment options to many millions of patients worldwide suffering from these diseases,” added Sabine Ott, senior vice president BD & licensing at SIRION.