eXmoor Pharma, an integrated cell and gene therapy CDMO with embedded consultancy expertise, has entered into a strategic partnership with KU Leuven, one of Europe’s leading academic institutions, to support a new cell and gene therapy hub. The collaboration brings together complementary scientific, regulatory and manufacturing capabilities to accelerate innovative cell and gene therapies from bench to first-in-human trials.

The cell and gene therapy hub has been established by KU Leuven and university hospitals Leuven (UZ Leuven) as a translational vehicle for their most promising gene therapy assets. A central focus of the partnership will be the development of adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy programs using intellectual property from KU Leuven. The Trellis Research Group, part of KU Leuven and led by Principal Investigator Els Henckaerts, will play a key role as the AAV innovation partner.

The collaboration spans four key areas:

• Joint AAV Cell Line Development: eXmoor and Trellis will engage in a co-development research collaboration to create a proprietary AAV producer cell line. The cell line will be jointly owned and deployed for both KU Leuven and eXmoor clients, supporting scalable and cost-effective vector production.
• Strategic Consultancy: As part of the agreement, eXmoor will act as the venture’s in-house CMC partner, providing asset assessment through its proprietary Health Check Questionnaire, regulatory and manufacturing strategy, and cost of goods analysis. eXmoor’s integrated consultancy team will support the venture across all translational and technical planning activities, ensuring early scientific decisions align with future GMP manufacturing requirements.
• AAV Platform Process Development: eXmoor and Trellis will also collaborate to build a scalable AAV platform process incorporating KU Leuven’s licensed IP. Quality and regulatory elements will be embedded from the outset, enabling eXmoor to manage process development, manufacturing science and technology (MSAT), technology transfer, and GMP production from its UK-based facility.
• PD and GMP Manufacturing Support: eXmoor will support the new hub with process development and GMP manufacturing expertise and provision, ensuring access to the technical capabilities needed as its programmes advance.

Angela Osborne, CEO of eXmoor Pharma, said: “By uniting KU Leuven’s academic leadership, Trellis’ scientific innovation and eXmoor’s development and manufacturing expertise, we are creating a launchpad for next-generation therapies. Our aim is to give this new cell and gene therapy hub the best possible start by aligning strategy, science and scalability from day one.”

Els Henckaerts, Principal Investigator and Head of the Trellis Research Group at KU Leuven, added: “Gene therapy holds immense promise for transforming the lives of patients. Over the years, our lab has worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between academic innovation and real-world therapeutic applications. This partnership with a leading CDMO represents the final critical step in our mission to streamline the path from discovery to clinical impact, ensuring that our advanced AAV vector technologies can reach patients more efficiently and effectively”.

By combining KU Leuven’s and UZ Leuven’s research excellence with eXmoor’s regulatory and manufacturing expertise, the partnership will help ensure that promising therapies can progress from the lab to early clinical trials with greater speed, rigor, and efficiency.