Asimov licenses lentiviral packaging cell line to AGC Biologics

Asimov, a synthetic biology company headquartered in Boston, and Seattle-based AGC Biologics, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), said they have signed a licensing agreement for Asimov’s LV Edge Packaging cell line at AGC Biologics’ Cell and Gene Center of Excellence in Milan, Italy.

Under the agreement, AGC Biologics will offer Asimov’s lentiviral vector (LV) packaging system that enables production using a single-plasmid transfection approach instead of the conventional four-plasmid process, according to the announcement. The system is intended to support more consistent and cost-effective lentiviral vector manufacturing for cell and gene therapy developers.

Asimov said its LV packaging system uses an engineered HEK293 cell line with inducible viral genes, along with software-supported plasmid design and ready-to-transfer processes, to reduce process variability and plasmid requirements compared with traditional transient transfection methods. The CDMO said the system has demonstrated higher harvest titers across multiple therapeutic transgenes.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with AGC Biologics to expand access to our high-performance lentiviral production system,” said Asimov CEO Alec Nielsen in a statement.

AGC Biologics said the technology was evaluated at its Milan site using clinically relevant genes of interest and will now be made available to customers globally.

“After careful evaluation of the LV Edge Packaging system at our Milan site, we look forward to providing this technology for customers around the globe,” Luca Alberici, executive vice president of global cell and gene technologies at AGC Biologics, said in a statement.

The licensing agreement follows several recent expansions of AGC Biologics’ cell and gene therapy capabilities. In December, the company announced a partnership with ATUM to integrate the Leap-In Transposase expression platform into its cell line development services, aiming to increase yields and shorten timelines to clinical trials. 

AGC Biologics has also entered a separate agreement to provide GMP manufacturing support for AAVantgarde’s gene therapy programs for progressive vision loss, using its BravoAAV suspension platform at its Milan site.