Recently, Cyagen and Guangdong Landau Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Landau Biotech") strengthened their strategic partnership on the basis of the original strategic cooperation. A new consensus will be reached on the joint focus for the development of AAV gene therapy vectors, and will fully utilize the collective resources, technologies, and brand advantages of both parties.

This cooperation aims to combine the advantages of Cyagen's gene therapy AI high-throughput AAV capsid evolution technology platform and the completely closed loop of non-human primate model platform of Landau Biotech to jointly develop highly efficient AAV capsids to support the development of gene therapy products. The cooperation between the two parties can give full play to the advantages of both parties and promote the development of fast and efficient AI-AAV capsids.

Cyagen considers ophthalmic diseases and neurological diseases as a breakthrough point for gene therapy. Relying on internationally renowned refined small animal ophthalmic equipment, senior professional talent resources and rich experience in gene editing model construction, it has established a gene therapy CRO service platform, from the design and optimization of AI-assisted AAV capsid protein to virus packaging and production, and the evaluation of gene therapy effectiveness, which fully supports the discovery, development and application of gene therapy drugs. Additionally, with the help of its own mouse resource library, model customization platform and standardized service phenotype analysis laboratory, a CRO service platform for neurological diseases featuring neurodegenerative diseases has been established to help researchers more deeply decode neuroscience research.

Landau Biotech concentrates resources to advance non-human primate research, accelerate the creation of disease model animals, and lead major breakthroughs original innovation achievements for China; Introduces, collects, and organizes animal model resources at home and abroad, and establishes a national animal model resource bank; Building a complete industrial chain from basic research, pilot production, through clinical trials, which promotes the cross-integration of industries with new technologies such as big data, cloud, and AI to provide high-quality, cost-effective animal resources and experimental service systems for universities and scientific research institutions.

Based on Cyagen's AI high-throughput AAV capsid evolution technology platform, ophthalmology and neuroscience research platform, as well as Landau Biotech's non-human primate model breeding and research platform, the two parties have a good foundation established with their in-depth cooperation in the research and development of AAV gene therapy vectors. On this basis, the two parties will fully integrate and optimize resources to provide better delivery vehicles for the development of the gene therapy industry in important disease fields such as ophthalmology, neurology, hepatology, and myology, and explore breakthroughs to solve the gene therapy industry bottleneck of hematological applications as soon as possible.

Mr. Lance Han, chairman of Cyagen, said, "In recent years, the gene therapy industry has continuously ushered in breakthroughs, and many people are paying attention to it. It is hoped that through the cooperation of research centers, preclinical CROs, and pharmaceutical companies, this innovative drug field will move faster towards industrialization. For us, Landau Biotech is an ideal partner. Relying on the leading edge of primate experimental animals, the disease research and pharmacological efficacy detection models assisted and participated in by Landau Biotech have performed well in helping the research and development of genetic drugs. It is a great pleasure to be able to successfully reach cooperation with Landau Biotech to collaborate and innovate on the AAV capsid development project, so as to achieve the common goal of going all out for gene therapy research and development. "

Mr. Lei Fan, chairman of Landau Biotech, noted, "Everyone knows that the effectiveness and safety of technology platforms are crucial to the research and development of gene therapy; In the current clinical research of gene therapy, AAV delivery vectors are the most widely used and most important. From the perspective of technology platform, Cyagen has been insistent on independent innovation and technical research for the key technology of AI high-throughput AAV capsid evolution. Therefore, we are quite optimistic about this collaboration with Cyagen on the development of AAV gene therapy vectors. "

Founded in 2006, Cyagen is an innovative CRO company that provides genetically modified rodent models and innovative one-stop cell and gene therapy solutions for R&D, including: disease model development, AAV discovery, drug efficacy studies, and more. Combining animal model expertise with in-depth exploration of artificial intelligence, Cyagen is at the forefront of the industry in the field of gene editing animal models, developing comprehensive AI tools and services that accelerate the development of new drugs with data, algorithms, and research models. Cyagen’s capabilities meet the needs of customers in the field of basic research and new drug research and development of animal models, examples include: animal model resource library, model customization, breeding, sterile mouse technical services to phenotypic function verification, and more. At the same time, Cyagen has continuously enriched its product lines, strengthened its advantages in data and models, and proactively deployed the gene therapy and cell therapy platforms, which integrate with target prediction and verification, virus vector development, evaluation model construction, and effectiveness evaluation, in anticipation of the rapid evolution of gene and cell therapies.

Cyagen currently has over 900 employees and multiple facilities with a total scale of over 40,000 square meters. The company has established extensive cooperations with scientists and institutions in more than 100 countries, leading to the publication of over 6,300 academic articles - including the three major journals of CNS (Cell, Nature, Science). From its foundation in animal model development, to implementation of AI-powered tools for data analysis and therapeutic discoveries, Cyagen provides one-stop solutions for accelerating basic research and new drug R&D with our unique offering of models, data, algorithms, and services.

The development history of Landau Biotech can be traced back to 1980. It is one of the earliest professional institutions engaged in the breeding and research of primate experimental animals in China, and it is also a leading research and development center for experimental monkey disease models in China. Landau Biotech is committed to providing services such as pharmacology and pharmacodynamics research, drug metabolism research, early drug screening, behavior, imaging, ophthalmology experiments and surgical operations for scientific research institutions, biomedical companies and other customers. Since 2019, Landau Biotech has cooperated with a number of scientific research institutions and scientist teams to carry out in-depth construction of common technology platforms.

During the 2020 epidemic, Landau Biotech has cooperated with the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Human Virology of Sun Yat-sen University and other units to carry out novel coronavirus vaccine research. The research results were published in the top international journals "Nature" and "Immunity" respectively, and recognized as "Guangdong Primate Experimental Animal Disease Model Engineering Technology Research Center" by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology. It also presides over and participates in a number of scientific and technological plan projects including the National Twelfth Five-Year "New Drug Creation" major special project and the National Ministry of Science and Technology Support Plan. Ten items have achieved great results in the construction of research and development institutions.

Landau Biotech has more than 40 years of scientific research experience and complete international qualification certifications. With the most complete license resources in the industry, it has "Wild Animal Domestication And Breeding License", "Experimental Animal Production License", "Experimental Animal Use License", "High-Tech Enterprise Certification", etc. In 2011, the company became the first group in South China to obtain AAALAC certification. In November 2022, Landau Biotech’s Phoenix Laboratory became the first laboratory in Guangdong to successfully pass CNAS-CL06 on-site accreditation.