Azenta Life Sciences and Form Bio Announce Strategic Partnership to Advance AAV Gene Therapy Development
Azenta's GENEWIZ division has formed a strategic partnership with Form Bio to enhance adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy development. The collaboration integrates GENEWIZ's next-generation sequencing services with Form Bio's AI-powered analysis pipelines to improve AAV gene therapy development workflows.
The partnership combines GENEWIZ's capabilities in synthesis, packaging of transgene expression cassettes, and long-read sequencing services with Form Bio's comprehensive AAV Genome Integrity Characterization using LAAVA software. This integration aims to streamline processes, reduce development time and costs, and provide better insights into AAV capsid contents for improved safety, efficacy, and manufacturability.
The partnership will be officially launched at the 27th Annual ASGCT Meeting in May 2025, where both companies will present their collaborative research.
La divisione GENEWIZ di Azenta ha stretto una partnership strategica con Form Bio per potenziare lo sviluppo della terapia genica con virus adeno-associati (AAV). La collaborazione integra i servizi di sequenziamento di nuova generazione di GENEWIZ con le pipeline di analisi basate su intelligenza artificiale di Form Bio, migliorando i flussi di lavoro nello sviluppo della terapia genica AAV.
La partnership unisce le competenze di GENEWIZ nella sintesi, nel confezionamento di cassette di espressione del transgene e nei servizi di sequenziamento a lettura lunga con la caratterizzazione completa dell'integrità del genoma AAV di Form Bio tramite il software LAAVA. Questa integrazione mira a semplificare i processi, ridurre tempi e costi di sviluppo e offrire una migliore comprensione del contenuto del capside AAV per aumentare sicurezza, efficacia e producibilità.
La collaborazione sarà ufficialmente presentata al 27° Congresso Annuale ASGCT nel maggio 2025, dove entrambe le aziende presenteranno i risultati della loro ricerca congiunta.
La división GENEWIZ de Azenta ha establecido una alianza estratégica con Form Bio para mejorar el desarrollo de terapias génicas con virus adenoasociados (AAV). La colaboración integra los servicios de secuenciación de última generación de GENEWIZ con los pipelines de análisis impulsados por inteligencia artificial de Form Bio para optimizar los procesos de desarrollo de terapias génicas AAV.
La asociación combina las capacidades de GENEWIZ en síntesis, empaquetado de casetes de expresión de transgenes y servicios de secuenciación de lectura larga con la caracterización integral de la integridad del genoma AAV de Form Bio mediante el software LAAVA. Esta integración busca agilizar los procesos, reducir tiempos y costos de desarrollo, y proporcionar mejores conocimientos sobre el contenido de la cápside AAV para mejorar la seguridad, eficacia y manufacturabilidad.
La alianza se lanzará oficialmente en la 27ª Reunión Anual de ASGCT en mayo de 2025, donde ambas compañías presentarán su investigación colaborativa.
Azenta의 GENEWIZ 부서는 AAV(아데노연관바이러스) 유전자 치료 개발을 강화하기 위해 Form Bio와 전략적 파트너십을 체결했습니다. 이번 협력은 GENEWIZ의 차세대 시퀀싱 서비스와 Form Bio의 AI 기반 분석 파이프라인을 통합하여 AAV 유전자 치료 개발 워크플로우를 개선합니다.
이 파트너십은 GENEWIZ의 합성, 전사체 발현 카세트 패키징 및 장기 읽기 시퀀싱 서비스 역량과 Form Bio의 LAAVA 소프트웨어를 활용한 AAV 게놈 무결성 종합 분석을 결합합니다. 이를 통해 프로세스 간소화, 개발 시간 및 비용 절감, AAV 캡시드 내용물에 대한 더 나은 통찰력을 제공하여 안전성, 효능 및 제조 가능성을 향상시키는 것을 목표로 합니다.
이 파트너십은 2025년 5월 개최되는 제27회 연례 ASGCT 회의에서 공식 발표되며, 양사는 공동 연구 결과를 발표할 예정입니다.
La division GENEWIZ d'Azenta a établi un partenariat stratégique avec Form Bio pour renforcer le développement des thérapies géniques par virus adéno-associés (AAV). Cette collaboration intègre les services de séquençage de nouvelle génération de GENEWIZ avec les pipelines d'analyse basés sur l'intelligence artificielle de Form Bio afin d'améliorer les flux de travail dans le développement des thérapies géniques AAV.
Le partenariat combine les compétences de GENEWIZ en synthèse, en emballage de cassettes d'expression de transgènes et en services de séquençage longue lecture avec la caractérisation complète de l'intégrité du génome AAV de Form Bio via le logiciel LAAVA. Cette intégration vise à simplifier les processus, réduire les délais et les coûts de développement, et fournir une meilleure compréhension du contenu des capsides AAV pour améliorer la sécurité, l'efficacité et la fabricabilité.
Le partenariat sera officiellement lancé lors de la 27e réunion annuelle de l'ASGCT en mai 2025, où les deux entreprises présenteront leurs recherches collaboratives.
Die GENEWIZ-Sparte von Azenta hat eine strategische Partnerschaft mit Form Bio geschlossen, um die Entwicklung von Adeno-assoziierten Virus (AAV)-Gentherapien zu verbessern. Die Zusammenarbeit verbindet GENEWIZs Next-Generation-Sequenzierungsdienste mit den KI-gestützten Analyse-Pipelines von Form Bio, um die Arbeitsabläufe bei der AAV-Gentherapieentwicklung zu optimieren.
Die Partnerschaft vereint GENEWIZs Kompetenzen in der Synthese, Verpackung von Transgen-Expressionskassetten und Langzeit-Sequenzierungsdiensten mit der umfassenden AAV-Genomintegritätscharakterisierung von Form Bio mittels der LAAVA-Software. Ziel dieser Integration ist es, Prozesse zu verschlanken, Entwicklungszeit und -kosten zu reduzieren und bessere Einblicke in den Inhalt der AAV-Kapside zu ermöglichen, um Sicherheit, Wirksamkeit und Herstellbarkeit zu verbessern.
Die Partnerschaft wird offiziell auf dem 27. Jahrestreffen der ASGCT im Mai 2025 vorgestellt, bei dem beide Unternehmen ihre gemeinsame Forschung präsentieren werden.
- Integration of AI and sequencing technology could reduce time and costs in gene therapy development
- Partnership enhances AAV vector safety and efficacy analysis capabilities
- Streamlined workflow integration may accelerate path to market for gene therapies
- None.
Insights
Azenta's partnership with Form Bio strengthens its gene therapy services, potentially expanding market share in the growing AAV therapeutics space.
This strategic partnership between Azenta's GENEWIZ division and Form Bio represents a significant advancement in Azenta's gene therapy development capabilities. By combining GENEWIZ's next-generation sequencing services with Form Bio's AI-powered analysis pipelines, Azenta is positioning itself as a more comprehensive solutions provider in the rapidly growing adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy market.
The collaboration addresses critical bottlenecks in AAV development workflows. Currently, gene therapy developers face significant challenges in ensuring vector integrity, safety, and manufacturability. The integration of high-quality sequencing data with sophisticated AI analysis through Form Bio's LAAVA software should enable faster identification of potential issues in AAV capsid contents, potentially reducing development timelines and costs for Azenta's clients.
This partnership aligns with industry trends toward more integrated solutions in the gene therapy development landscape. By offering synthesis, packaging, sequencing, and advanced computational analysis in a streamlined workflow, Azenta strengthens its competitive position against fragmented service providers. The company is effectively expanding its value proposition from being primarily a sequencing provider to offering more comprehensive analytical insights that drive decision-making.
From a market perspective, this positions Azenta to capture more value in the AAV gene therapy market, which is projected to grow significantly as more therapies progress through clinical trials. The timing of this announcement to coincide with the upcoming ASGCT conference is strategic, as it will provide immediate visibility to key industry stakeholders and potential clients.
The integration of GENEWIZ's sequencing with Form Bio's AI creates a technical synergy that addresses critical AAV development challenges.
From a technical perspective, this partnership addresses one of the most significant challenges in AAV gene therapy development: ensuring genome integrity within viral vectors. The combination of long-read sequencing technology from GENEWIZ with Form Bio's specialized LAAVA software creates a powerful analytical framework that can detect subtle genomic variations that impact safety and efficacy.
Long-read sequencing is particularly valuable for AAV analysis because it can span entire transgene cassettes, providing comprehensive insight into structural variants, truncations, and other genomic alterations that shorter-read technologies might miss. Form Bio's AI algorithms can then interpret this complex genomic data to identify patterns and potential issues that would be difficult to detect manually.
The genome integrity characterization capabilities mentioned are crucial for regulatory submissions and manufacturing quality control. Regulatory bodies increasingly require comprehensive characterization of gene therapy products, and this integrated solution should help developers meet these requirements more efficiently. By identifying integrity issues earlier in development, companies can avoid costly late-stage failures and redesign iterations.
What makes this partnership technically significant is the integration of the analysis directly into the sequencing workflow. Rather than treating sequencing and analysis as separate steps, this approach embeds analytical insights into the data generation process, creating a more seamless experience. This integration should provide developers with actionable information faster, potentially compressing development timelines.
The planned poster presentation comparing next-generation sequencing methods for AAV quality control suggests the partners are generating validation data to support their claims, which will be critical for adoption by risk-averse biopharmaceutical developers.
Integrated solution aims to reduce time and cost to lead candidates, advancing safer and more effective gene therapies to patients faster.
This partnership brings together GENEWIZ's industry-leading next-generation sequencing services for AAV gene therapy with Form Bio's AI- and machine learning-powered analysis pipelines. The integration of these capabilities aims to provide gene therapy developers with data-driven insights into AAV capsid contents, improving safety, efficacy, and manufacturability.
GENEWIZ will provide synthesis and packaging of transgene expression cassettes, complemented by high-quality, long-read sequencing services for AAV gene therapy. Form Bio will conduct comprehensive AAV Genome Integrity Characterization using Long-read AAV Analysis (LAAVA) software, identifying key opportunities to enhance vector integrity and safety, while providing actionable insights through detailed reporting. This combination enables a streamlined process that integrates sequencing, vector design, and development workflows, ultimately reducing time and cost to reach lead candidates, accelerating the path to market for innovative therapies.
"Our collaboration with Form Bio marks a major step forward in simplifying AAV gene therapy workflows," said Ginger Zhou, President at GENEWIZ. "By combining our sequencing expertise with their cutting-edge analysis, we are enabling researchers to make more informed decisions and break through traditional hurdles found in gene therapy development."
"Partnering with GENEWIZ allows us to embed our genome integrity insights directly into sequencing workflows," said Andrew Busey, Co-Founder and CEO at Form Bio. "By integrating analysis earlier in the process, we're helping gene therapy developers accelerate timelines, enhance vector safety, and improve the likelihood for clinical success."
The partnership will officially launch at the 27th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) in May 2025, where both companies will be exhibiting (booth numbers 1711 and 1143). A poster highlighting their collaborative work "The Long and Short of It: Comparing Next Generation Sequencing Methods for Quality Control in AAV Development" will be presented on May 15, 5:30-7:00 pm EST, poster #1612.
About Form Bio
Form Bio delivers cutting-edge AI and computational solutions to accelerate therapeutic development in cell and gene therapy. With its proprietary FORMsightAI platform, Form Bio enables rapid in silico genome integrity characterization and optimization of nucleic acid-based therapies—streamlining lead candidate selection. By integrating AI-powered design with deep expertise in molecular biology, bioinformatics, software engineering, and data science, Form Bio empowers drug developers to enhance therapeutic safety, efficacy, and manufacturability while reducing time and costs.
Form Bio is headquartered in
About Azenta Life Sciences
Azenta, Inc. (Nasdaq: AZTA) is a leading provider of life sciences solutions worldwide, enabling life science organizations around the world to bring impactful breakthroughs and therapies to market faster. Azenta provides a full suite of reliable cold-chain sample management solutions and multiomics services across areas such as drug development, clinical research and advanced cell therapies for the industry's top pharmaceutical, biotech, academic and healthcare institutions globally. Our global team delivers and supports these products and services through our industry-leading brands, including GENEWIZ, FluidX, Ziath, 4titude, Limfinity, Freezer Pro, and Barkey.
Azenta is headquartered in
INVESTOR CONTACTS:
Yvonne Perron
Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis, and Investor Relations
ir@azenta.com
Sherry Dinsmore
sherry.dinsmore@azenta.com
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SOURCE Azenta, Inc.
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