Mass General counts AveXis, James Wilson among partners as it readies to deploy gene therapy tools for COVID-19 vaccine

A Mass General program using gene therapy vectors to develop a COVID-19 vaccine has teed up the multilayered manufacturing capacity needed to get its AAV candidate into the clinic next half, highlighting the front-and-center role of manufacturers in COVID-19 countermeasures.

The AAVCOVID vaccine program, spearheaded by Massachusetts General Hospital and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, announced Thursday it formed manufacturing partnerships with the AveXis unit of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) and CDMOs Aldevron LLC, Catalent Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) and Viralgen Vector Core, a Spain-based JV between Asklepios Bio Pharmaceutical Inc. (AskBio) and Columbus Venture Partners...