PRESS RELEASE : ViGeneron and WuXi Advanced Therapies enter Strategic Manufacturing Partnership for Next-Generation Ophthalmic Gene Therapy

 
 DGAP-News: ViGeneron GmbH / Key word(s): Alliance 
ViGeneron and WuXi Advanced Therapies enter Strategic Manufacturing 
Partnership for Next-Generation Ophthalmic Gene Therapy 
 
2020-12-01 / 14:00 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
 
*ViGeneron and WuXi Advanced Therapies enter Strategic Manufacturing 
Partnership for Next-Generation Ophthalmic Gene Therapy* 
 
December 1, 2020 - Philadelphia, PA and Munich, Germany - ViGeneron, a gene 
therapy company, and WuXi Advanced Therapies Inc. (WuXi ATU), a leading 
Contract, Testing, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CTDMO), today 
announced a strategic partnership to accelerate production for the clinical 
development of VG901, a next-generation ophthalmic gene therapy program. 
 
ViGeneron's innovative gene therapy pipeline addresses ophthalmic diseases 
with high unmet medical needs. Its lead product VG901 targets a disease gene 
for Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), for which there is currently no approved 
treatment option. VG901 is developed from ViGeneron's proprietary next 
generation vgAAV vector platform that allows a superior transduction of 
retinal cells and intravitreal, a less invasive treatment administration. 
 
WuXi ATU will accelerate the development of VG901 by manufacturing, testing 
and making available the clinical trial grade treatment while leveraging its 
trusted, world-class AAV Suspension and Plasmid DNA platforms. 
 
"We are excited to partner with WuXi Advanced Therapies to access their 
integrated platforms, expertise and cGMP manufacturing capabilities to 
advance our ongoing development. We are well on track to kick off the 
manufacturing of our lead product, VG901, by close of 2020 to bring our 
innovative gene therapy into the clinic and to patients in need. Both 
parties aim to build a strategic partnership for long term success, which 
will enable us to work faster with greater predictability of supply and 
quality," said Dr. Caroline Man Xu, Co-founder & CEO of ViGeneron. 
 
"We are proud to join with ViGeneron to advance this important work in 
ophthalmology," said Dr. David Chang, CEO of WuXi ATU. "VG901 has the 
potential to improve the lives of many patients suffering from reduced 
vision. Through this partnership, we will be able to provide more patients 
with faster and more reliable care to meet their unmet medical needs. 
Together we will bring this cutting edge solution to patients around the 
world and help overcome the many challenges that those with ophthalmic 
disorders face." 
 
*About ViGeneron* 
ViGeneron is dedicated to developing innovative gene therapies to treat 
ophthalmic diseases with high unmet medical need, as well as partnering with 
leading biopharmaceutical players in other disease areas. The company's 
pipeline is built on two proprietary adeno-associated virus (AAV) technology 
platforms. The first, vgAAV gene therapy vector platform, allows superior 
transduction efficiency and intravitreal, a less invasive treatment 
administration. The second, REVeRT vector platform, targets diseases caused 
by mutations in large genes. Privately-owned ViGeneron was founded in 2017 
by a seasoned team with in-depth experience in AAV vector technology and 
clinical ophthalmic gene therapy programs and is located in Munich, Germany. 
For further information, please visit www.vigeneron.com [1] 
 
*About WuXi AppTec* 
WuXi AppTec provides a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services 
that enable companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device 
industries worldwide to advance discoveries and deliver groundbreaking 
treatments to patients. As an innovation-driven and customer-focused 
company, WuXi AppTec helps our partners improve the productivity of 
advancing healthcare products through cost-effective and efficient, socially 
responsible and sustainable solutions - and has received ESG (Environment, 
Social and Governance) A Ratings from Morgan Stanley Capital International's 
since 2019. With industry-leading capabilities such as R&D and manufacturing 
for small molecule drugs, cell and gene therapies, and testing for medical 
devices, WuXi AppTec's open-access platform is enabling more than 4,100 
collaborators from over 30 countries to improve the health of those in need 
- and to realize our vision that "every drug can be made and every disease 
can be treated." Please visit: www.wuxiapptec.com [2]. 
 
*About WuXi Advanced Therapies (ATU)* 
As the advanced therapies business unit of WuXi AppTec, WuXi Advanced 
Therapies is a Contract Testing, Development and Manufacturing Organization 
(CTDMO) that offers integrated platforms to transform the development, 
testing, manufacturing, and commercialization of cell, gene, and other 
advanced biopharmaceuticals. Our services and solutions accelerate time to 
market and support customer programs around the world. For more information, 
please visit www.advancedtherapies.com [3]. 
 
*Contact: 
ViGeneron GmbH * 
Dr. Caroline Man Xu, Co-Founder and CEO 
[e-mail] 
 
*ViGeneron Media and Investor Relations: 
MC Services AG* 
Shaun Brown/ Julia von Hummel 
phone: [phone] 
[e-mail] 
 
*WuXi ATU Media Contact:* 
Min Park 
Global Head of Marketing 
WuXi Advanced Therapies 
[e-mail] 
 
2020-12-01 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a 
service of EQS Group AG. 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
 
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 01, 2020 08:00 ET (13:00 GMT)