Lonza and Asimov Collaborate to Advance In Vivo Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing
On 2 October 2026, Lonza and Asimov announced a strategic collaboration combining Asimov's LV Edge cell-line technology with Lonza's process development, scale-up and GMP manufacturing expertise to advance scalable, reproducible lentiviral vector (LVV) manufacturing for emerging in vivo applications.
Basel, Switzerland, and Boston, MA, USA, 2 October 2026 – Lonza, the world's leading CDMO, and Asimov, the company building an AI-native synthetic biology platform to advance therapeutic development, announced today a strategic collaboration to advance lentiviral vector (LVV) manufacturing for emerging in vivo applications.
The collaboration brings together Asimov's LV Edge system cell line technologies with Lonza's expertise in process development, scale-up, analytics and GMP manufacturing. By connecting early design decisions with development and manufacturing considerations, the collaboration helps developers incorporate manufacturing considerations earlier in development, creating a stronger foundation for scalable clinical and commercial production.
Most current methods of lentiviral vector production still depend on multi-plasmid transient transfection, which limits scalability and consistency. Stable production systems for lentiviral vector manufacturing can potentially enable scalable, reproducible and controlled product profiles for lentiviral vectors, unlocking emerging applications including in vivo LVV programs. The same approaches can also support ex vivo LVV programs.
Comments from both companies
Daniel Palmacci, Head of Specialized Modalities, Lonza, commented: “The development of in vivo lentiviral therapies requires design and manufacturing strategy to be considered together from the earliest stages. By combining Asimov's design and cell line technologies with our process development and GMP manufacturing expertise, we can bring manufacturability considerations earlier into development and provide customers with a more connected path towards scalable clinical and commercial manufacturing.”
Alec Nielsen, co-founder and CEO, Asimov, commented: “In vivo lentiviral therapies turn the vector from a manufacturing reagent into the drug itself. This raises the bar for titer, product quality, and scale. By pairing LV Edge stable cell lines with Lonza's manufacturing expertise, developers can get a scalable path from sequence to clinic.”
As the collaboration progresses, Lonza and Asimov will continue to define a feasibility-first framework spanning transgene optimization, cell line development, process development, advanced analytics, scale-up, GMP manufacturing and CMC readiness. Asimov, founded by bioengineers from MIT and Boston University and headquartered in Boston, has raised over $200 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, CPP Investments, Horizons Ventures, and Fidelity Management & Research Company.
About Lonza
Lonza is a Swiss-based global CDMO with capabilities spanning biologics, advanced synthesis (small molecules and bioconjugation), drug product, and cell and gene therapy. Through its Synaffix platform it has built end-to-end ADC capabilities and continues to expand capacity at Visp, Stein and Vacaville.