Oxford Biomedica to work with Virica Biotech on new gene therapy

Canadian life sciences firm Virica Biotech has announced that it will work with Oxford Biomedica on the next generation of its gene therapies.

The Ottowa-based firm will collaborate with its UK counterpart to improve the yield and production efficiency of its next generation of lentiviral vector gene therapies using Virica’s Viral Sensitizers.

Lentiviral vectors in gene therapy is a method by which genes can be inserted, modified, or deleted in organisms using lentivirus.

Lentivirus are a family of viruses that are responsible for notable diseases like AIDS, which infect by inserting DNA into their host cells' genome.

With Lentiviral vectors, all pathogenic and replicative properties of the viruses are removed, preserving only their gene transporting capabilities.

Ella Korets-Smith, Chief Business Officer of Virica Biotech, said: "There is growing demand from major industry players to use leading lentivirus technologies, like Oxford Biomedica’s LentiVector® platform, to develop cell and gene therapies. We envision our VSEs™ as an ideal solution in their quest to pursue new ways to increase commercial yields in order to support the use of life-saving cell and gene therapies globally."

Oxford Biomedica  LentiVector® platform enables the successful development of breakthrough gene and cell-based medicines.

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