Avista Therapeutics and Roche will partner to develop adeno-associated virus gene therapy vectors for ocular diseases, according to a press release.
Roche will have the right to evaluate and license novel capsids from Avista and will be responsible for preclinical, clinical and commercialization activities for gene therapy programs using these capsids, according to the release. The capsids will be distinct from Avista’s internal pipeline.
Avista, which was recently spun out from UPMC, will be paid $7.5 million upfront and is eligible to receive further payments during the research phase,