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Collaboration connects Asimov’s genetic design and cell line technologies with Lonza’s process development, scale-up and GMP manufacturing expertise.
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Integrated approach brings manufacturability considerations earlier into cell line development streamlining path to clinical and commercial production.
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Companies will work together to support scalable and reproducible stable production approaches to reduce cost of goods for emerging in vivo lentiviral vector applications.
Basel, Switzerland, and Boston, MA, USA, 2 October 2026 – Lonza, the world's leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), and Asimov, the company building an AI-native synthetic biology platform to advance therapeutic development, announced today a strategic collaboration to advance lentiviral vector (LVV) manufacturing for emerging in vivo applications.
The collaboration brings together Asimov’s LV Edge system cell line technologies with Lonza’s expertise in process development, scale-up, analytics and GMP manufacturing. By connecting early design decisions with development and manufacturing considerations, the collaboration helps developers incorporate manufacturing considerations earlier in development, creating a stronger foundation for scalable clinical and commercial production.
Most current methods of lentiviral vector production still depend on multi-plasmid transient transfection, which limits scalability and consistency. Stable production systems for lentiviral vector manufacturing can potentially enable scalable, reproducible and controlled product profiles for lentiviral vectors, unlocking emerging applications including in vivo LVV programs.
For in vivo developers, Asimov and Lonza’s combined capabilities address the specific performance and consistency requirements of in vivo LVV applications, supporting stable, program-specific production strategies designed to improve scalability and reproducibility while giving developers earlier visibility of manufacturability considerations. The same approaches can also support ex vivo LVV programs.
Daniel Palmacci, Head of Specialized Modalities, Lonza, commented: “The development of in vivo lentiviral therapies requires design and manufacturing strategy to be considered together from the earliest stages. By combining Asimov’s design and cell line technologies with our process development and GMP manufacturing expertise, we can bring manufacturability considerations earlier into development and provide customers with a more connected path towards scalable clinical and commercial manufacturing.”
Alec Nielsen, co-founder and CEO, Asimov, commented: “In vivo lentiviral therapies turn the vector from a manufacturing reagent into the drug itself. This raises the bar for titer, product quality, and scale. By pairing LV Edge stable cell lines with Lonza's manufacturing expertise, developers can get a scalable path from sequence to clinic.”
As the collaboration progresses, Lonza and Asimov will continue to define a feasibility-first framework, spanning transgene optimization, cell line development, process development, advanced analytics, scale-up, GMP manufacturing and CMC readiness. Learn more here: Lonza | Asimov.
About Asimov
Asimov’s mission is to advance humanity’s ability to design living systems, enabling biotechnologies with outsized societal benefit. The company is developing a synthetic biology platform – from cells to software – to design and manufacture next-generation therapeutics, including biologics, cell/gene therapies, and RNA through a combination of products, services, and collaborations.
Founded by bioengineers from MIT and Boston University and headquartered in Boston, the company has raised over $200 million from top institutional investors including Andreessen Horowitz, CPP Investments, Horizons Ventures, and Fidelity Management & Research Company. For more information, visit www.asimov.com.