Charles River Laboratories entered into a High Quality (HQ) plasmid manufacturing collaboration with Fondazione Telethon. The rare disease organization will leverage Charles River’s cell and gene contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) capabilities in HQ plasmid DNA production, and GMP-compliant plasmid DNA batches to manufacture HQ plasmid DNA for Fondazione Telethon’s lentivirus production that will be used in ex vivo cell and gene therapy, according to Charles River officials.
Fondazione Telethon is a non-profit organization and a biomedical research foundation focused on advancing biomedical research to cure rare genetic diseases. Founded in 1990, the Fondazione Telethon supports and finances scientific research of excellence for the study and treatment of genetic diseases.
Through this collaboration, Fondazione Telethon will have access to established manufacturing platforms and multiple Charles River CDMO centers of excellence, tapping into a range of services including, but not limited to, GMP cell banking and HQ and GMP-grade plasmid DNA manufacturing.
Charles River recently announced the opening of a state-of-the-art HQ plasmid manufacturing center of excellence to address the supply shortages and support the growing needs of the cell and gene therapy field.
“We are thrilled to work with Fondazione Telethon to produce HQ plasmid DNA for Fondazione Telethon’s lentivirus for ex vivo gene therapy,” said Kerstin Dolph, corporate senior vice president, Biologics Solutions, Charles River.
