FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies Enters Strategic Partnership With OXGENE™ To Address Supply Bottlenecks In Gene Therapy Development & Manufacturing

FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies (FDB), a world leading cGMP Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) supporting its partners in the biopharmaceutical industry with the development and production of their biologics, vaccines and gene therapies, announced a strategic partnership with OXGENE™, an industry leader in the design and development of gene therapy technologies. This partnership will enable FDB to deliver gene therapy products to clients with an approximate 25% lead-time reduction. FDB has licensed OXGENE's proprietary AAV system for commercial use, to support biotech companies engaged in gene therapy development and manufacture. The AAV system consists of Helper, Rep/Cap and Gene of Interest plasmids, used in combination with a clonal suspension a HEK293 cell line. Every aspect of OXGENE's AAV system, including reconfiguration of the Rep and Cap genes, and clonal cell line selection, has been optimised for maximum AAV yield. FDB will manufacture and stock a supply of Helper and Rep /Cap plasmids for clients engaged in process development and GMP manufacture of gene therapy programs at FDB's College Station, Texas site. Gene of Interest (GOI) plasmid manufacture will be performed in-house using FDB's existing leading microbial capabilities and facilities with cGMP manufacture planned to commence in Q4 2020.