Dyno Therapeutics has entered into a new partnership with Roche, potentially valued at up to $1.05bn, to advance the development of adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy vectors aimed at neurological diseases.
The partnership will leverage Dyno Therapeutics’ platform technology, enabling Roche to expand its development of next-generation AAV gene therapies across multiple targets.
Under the terms of the agreement, the gene technology company will receive an upfront payment of $50m from Roche, with the potential to earn over $1bn through milestone payments and royalties.
Dyno Therapeutics leverages artificial intelligence (AI) for in vivo gene delivery. This is its second research collaboration with Roche.
The new partnership targets the development of AAV vectors for neurological therapies, following a previous agreement established in October 2020. That earlier collaboration included a research and licence agreement for neurological and liver-directed therapies.
The latest partnership gives Roche additional access to Dyno Therapeutics’ platform and sequence design technology for in vivo gene delivery.
According to Dyno Therapeutics, current gene therapies primarily rely on a limited range of naturally occurring AAV vectors. These vectors are associated with various challenges, including delivery efficiency, immunity issues, and manufacturability constraints.
In response, Dyno Therapeutics has developed methods using AI and large-scale in vivo data collection to engineer AAV capsids with improved properties for tissue targeting, immunity, and manufacturability.
The company’s Low-Shot Efficient Accelerated Performance (LEAP) technology, combined with its capacity to conduct billions of in vivo sequence-function measurements each month, supports the optimisation of capsids at a rapid pace.
Dyno Therapeutics founder and CEO Eric Kelsic said: “This new collaboration with Roche, focused on developing next-generation gene therapies for underserved patients with life-altering neurological diseases, is a testament to the outstanding progress made by Dyno’s platform and to the commitment we make to partners in all of our projects.
“Our approach combines extensive in vivo data with the world’s most advanced AI models for sequence-function prediction, empowering Dyno capsid engineers with industry-leading capabilities for solving the longstanding challenge of therapeutic gene delivery.”
As part of the agreement, Dyno Therapeutics will lead the design and discovery of new AAV capsids with enhanced functional capabilities. Roche will focus on validating these capsids and managing subsequent preclinical, clinical, and commercialisation activities related to multiple neurological gene therapy products using the novel capsids from Dyno Therapeutics.
Roche corporate business development Boris Zaïtra said: “We are very pleased to take our partnership with Dyno Therapeutics to the next level. Our combined knowledge and resources will allow us to explore new treatments for historically difficult-to-treat neurological diseases.
“We are dedicated to making significant advancements in this field, and part of this is partnering with companies like Dyno Therapeutics. Our previous collaboration with Dyno Therapeutics gives us great confidence to increase our investment in therapeutic gene delivery, to support our neurological disease portfolio.”
