Virica Biotech and FUJIFILM Biosciences Collaborate Under the Canada–Japan Co‑Innovation Program to Advance AAV Production Enhancers

• Efficient production of Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors at scale for in vivo gene therapies remains a key bottleneck for broad patient access and sustainable manufacturing costs.
• Virica and FUJIFILM Biosciences will co-develop an off-the-shelf enhancer–media solution to boost AAV yields and process robustness in FUJIFILM Biosciences BalanCD® HEK293 system.

OTTAWA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Virica Biotech (“Virica”), a cell enhancer company specializing in Viral Sensitizers (VSE™) for viral vector manufacturing, today announced it is receiving advisory services and funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), under the Canada–Japan Corporate Co-Innovation Program for a collaboration with FUJIFILM Biosciences. The collaboration will focus on optimizing a VSE™ formulation for FUJIFILM Biosciences BalanCD HEK293 media to support academic and commercial AAV producers globally.

AAV vectors are a cornerstone of in vivo gene delivery for gene therapies, but they remain difficult and expensive to manufacture at scale. As pipelines expand to more indications and broader patient populations, significantly greater amounts of high-quality AAV are required, while the need for commercially viable therapies places pressure on cost-of-goods. Current manufacturing methods and underlying economics are often not sufficient to meet this demand. By pairing high-performance FUJIFILM Biosciences BalanCD media with Virica’s VSE enhancers, the collaboration aims to deliver significant AAV productivity gains and more robust, scalable processes.

To support FUJIFILM Biosciences’ product strategy, Virica will optimize VSE formulations and process parameters for AAV production in FUJIFILM Biosciences BalanCD HEK293 media with suspension HEK293 cells. This work will leverage Virica’s High-Throughput Virology (HTV™) platform, Design-of-Experiments (DoE) frameworks, and analytical testing. FUJIFILM Biosciences will contribute deep expertise in media and feed supplements and scale-up capabilities to the collaborative project. The project, supported by NRC IRAP, aims to generate VSE™ formulations tailored with the FUJIFILM Biosciences BalanCD HEK293 system, enabling an off-the-shelf enhancer–media combination that end users can adopt with minimal process changes.

“We see a strong fit between our VSE technology and FUJIFILM Biosciences BalanCD media portfolio,” said Dr. Jean-Simon Diallo, scientific co-founder and chief executive officer of Virica Biotech. “Following the recent launch of our CellVantage™ AAV off-the-shelf enhancer, our goal is to provide an optimized formulation to deliver further AAV productivity gains specifically in the FUJIFILM Biosciences BalanCD HEK293 system.”

“We remain committed to offering integrated solutions that combine high-performance media with enabling technologies,” said Yutaka Yamaguchi, chairman and chief executive officer at FUJIFILM Biosciences. “Optimizing Virica’s VSE-based enhancers with our FUJIFILM Biosciences BalanCD HEK293 system will help us deliver an easy-to-implement option for improving AAV yields and supporting efficient scale-up for our customers.”

To learn more about Virica’s support for the manufacture of viral vectors in cell and gene therapy and vaccines, please visit viricabiotech.com.

About Virica Biotech

Virica develops cell enhancers that improve the yield and quality of viral vectors used for cell & gene therapies and vaccines, allowing developers to deploy their products at scale economically. Virica’s Viral Sensitizer (VSE™) enhancers reduce production inefficiencies caused by cellular defenses in manufacturing cells. Purpose-formulated VSE combinations substantially increase manufacturing yields and reduce the cost of goods for a range of products. Beyond supplying VSEs as off-the-shelf reagents, Virica operates as a fast-turnaround service partner. Our proprietary High-Throughput Virology (HTV™) platform, Design-of-Experiments (DoE) process optimization, and analytical testing workflows enable developers to rapidly pinpoint the optimal transfection or transduction conditions, allowing programs to scale sooner and at a lower cost.

About FUJIFILM Biosciences

With a foundation in cell culture that dates back to 1970, FUJIFILM Biosciences is a global, full spectrum supplier to the life sciences market, providing products and services that assist customers in advancing healthcare initiatives. With an expanding portfolio of applications supported that include life science and discovery research, cell and gene therapy, as well as the large-scale production of biotherapeutics and vaccines, the Company is trusted by researchers and manufacturers worldwide. For over 50 years, FUJIFILM Biosciences’ Mission has been to empower all who bring medicines and treatments to life with unmatched quality and responsiveness in its products and custom solutions, providing customers with the vital resources needed to enrich human lives through innovative, accessible therapies. The Company’s facilities adhere to both ISO and FDA regulations, with manufacturing facilities that follow cGMP guidelines in the USA, Japan, and the Netherlands, and a media optimization center in China. All sites prioritize strategies that adhere to the FUJIFILM Sustainability Value Plan 2030 for sustainable growth. FUJIFILM Biosciences operates as a subsidiary of FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation under FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation.

For more information, please visit: fujifilmbiosciences.fujifilm.com

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, leverages its depth of knowledge and proprietary core technologies to deliver innovative products and services across the globe through the four key business segments of healthcare, electronics, business innovation, and imaging with over 70,000 employees. Guided and united by our Group Purpose of “giving our world more smiles,” we address social challenges and create a positive impact on society through our products, services, and business operations. Under its medium-term management plan, VISION2030, which ends in FY2030, we aspire to continue our evolution into a company that creates value and smiles for various stakeholders as a collection of global leading businesses and achieve a global revenue of 4 trillion yen (29 billion USD at an exchange rate of 140 JPY/USD). For more information, please visit: www.fujifilmholdings.com.

For further details about our commitment to sustainability and Fujifilm’s Sustainable Value Plan 2030, click here.