WuXi Advanced Therapies, a wholly owned subsidiary of WuXi AppTec, and A*STAR's Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), have announced a new partnership to bring WuXi ATU's proprietary Tetracycline-Enabled Self-Silencing Adenovirus (TESSA) technology to the Asia-Pacific region.

This partnership aims to foster scientific innovation in cell and gene therapy, and establish a joint professional development programme to train and develop the next generation of scientists and engineers in GMP manufacturing for the cell and gene therapy industry.

TESSA technology is a novel process for transfection-free, scalable manufacture of adeno-associated viruses (AAV) and represents a major advancement in AAV manufacturing by improving AAV yields and particle quality. TESSA technology produces significantly more AAV than plasmid-based manufacturing, generating enough material to address the growing demand in healthcare needs for patients suffering from cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

As part of this collaboration, WuXi ATU will supply the materials, equipment, funding, and training required to further develop and commercialise TESSA technology in Singapore. BTI will contribute research expertise, facilities and access to its network of partners to support WuXi ATU in its research and development in cell and gene therapy in Singapore.