eXmoor Pharma and KU Leuven team up to launch CGT hub, bridging science and scale in AAV innovation.

eXmoor Pharma, a UK-based contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), has announced a strategic partnership with Belgian academic institution KU Leuven to support the launch of a new cell and gene therapy (CGT) hub.

The initiative, developed in collaboration with University Hospitals Leuven (UZ Leuven), is designed to accelerate the transition of promising gene therapy candidates into first-in-human trials.

The hub will initially focus on adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector programmes based on KU Leuven intellectual property. According to the partners, the alliance brings together complementary strengths in early-stage scientific research, regulatory planning, and manufacturing scale-up.

A core component of the agreement involves the co-development of a proprietary AAV producer cell line. This will be jointly owned and used to support both academic projects and commercial clients.

The Trellis Research Group, led by principal investigator Els Henckaerts at KU Leuven, will serve as the innovation driver on the academic side, while eXmoor will contribute expertise in process development and scale-up.

“This partnership with a leading CDMO represents the final critical step in our mission to streamline the path from discovery to clinical impact,” said Henckaerts.

“Over the years, our lab has worked to bridge the gap between academic innovation and therapeutic application. We believe this collaboration will help ensure that advanced AAV vector technologies reach patients more efficiently.”

In addition to technical collaboration, eXmoor will provide strategic consultancy through its in-house team. This includes asset assessment, cost modelling, and regulatory support, with the goal of embedding manufacturability considerations early in the translational process. The company’s proprietary Health Check Questionnaire will be used as part of this planning phase.

Angela Osborne, CEO of eXmoor, said the partnership exemplifies the type of academic-industry collaboration needed to advance CGT.

She 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 align strategy, science and scalability from day one.”

The venture will also focus on developing a scalable AAV platform process and managing GMP production from eXmoor’s facility in Bristol, UK.

Both parties said the collaboration is designed to ensure regulatory compliance and commercial readiness from the earliest development stages.

This initiative reflects a growing trend of universities working closely with CDMOs to overcome the translational challenges associated with CGT development. By combining research excellence with applied manufacturing insight, the partners aim to deliver therapies to patients with greater speed and reliability.