eXmoor Pharma and KU Leuven announce strategic partnership to accelerate cell and gene therapy innovation through new venture

Bristol, UK and Leuven, Belgium — 13 May 2025: eXmoor Pharma, the integrated cell and gene therapy CDMO with embedded consultancy expertise, has entered into a strategic partnership with KU Leuven, one of Europe’s leading academic institutions, to support a new cell and gene therapy hub. The collaboration brings together complementary scientific, regulatory and manufacturing capabilities to accelerate innovative cell and gene therapies from bench to first-in-human trials.

The cell and gene therapy hub has been established by KU Leuven and university hospitals Leuven (UZ Leuven) as a translational vehicle for their most promising gene therapy assets. A central focus of the partnership will be the development of adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy programmes using intellectual property from KU Leuven. The Trellis Research Group, part of KU Leuven and led by Principal Investigator Els Henckaerts, will play a key role as the AAV innovation partner.

The collaboration spans four key areas:

Joint AAV Cell Line Development

eXmoor and Trellis will engage in a co-development research collaboration to create a proprietary AAV producer cell line. The cell line will be jointly owned and deployed for both KU Leuven and eXmoor clients, supporting scalable and cost-effective vector production.

Strategic Consultancy

As part of the agreement, eXmoor will act as the venture’s in-house CMC partner, providing asset assessment through its proprietary Health Check Questionnaire, regulatory and manufacturing strategy, and cost of goods analysis. eXmoor’s integrated consultancy team will support the venture across all translational and technical planning activities, ensuring early scientific decisions align with future GMP manufacturing requirements.

AAV Platform Process Development

eXmoor and Trellis will also collaborate to build a scalable AAV platform process incorporating KU Leuven’s licensed IP. Quality and regulatory elements will be embedded from the outset, enabling eXmoor to manage process development, manufacturing science and technology (MSAT), technology transfer, and GMP production from its UK-based facility.

PD and GMP Manufacturing Support

eXmoor will support the new hub with process development and GMP manufacturing expertise and provision, ensuring access to the technical capabilities needed as its programmes advance.

Angela Osborne, CEO of eXmoor Pharma, commented:

“This partnership embodies the spirit of collaboration that is so essential in cell and gene therapy development. By uniting KU Leuven’s academic leadership, Trellis’ scientific innovation and eXmoor’s development and manufacturing expertise, we are creating a launchpad for next-generation therapies. Our aim is to give this new cell and gene therapy hub the best possible start by aligning strategy, science and scalability from day one.”

Angela Osborne

CEO & Founder

Els Henckaerts, Principal Investigator and Head of the Trellis Research Group at KU Leuven, said:

“Gene therapy holds immense promise for transforming the lives of patients. Over the years, our lab has worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between academic innovation and real-world therapeutic applications. This partnership with a leading CDMO represents the final critical step in our mission to streamline the path from discovery to clinical impact, ensuring that our advanced AAV vector technologies can reach patients more efficiently and effectively”.

This collaboration reflects the growing momentum behind academic and industry partnerships aimed at accelerating the delivery of cell and gene therapies to patients. By combining KU Leuven’s and UZ Leuven’s research excellence with eXmoor’s regulatory and manufacturing expertise, the partnership will help ensure that promising therapies can progress from the lab to early clinical trials with greater speed, rigour and efficiency.

About KU Leuven and Trellis

KU Leuven is one of Europe’s leading research-intensive universities, known for its pioneering work in biomedical science and translational medicine. Through a new cell and gene therapy hub, KU Leuven is advancing its most promising gene therapy candidates towards first-in-human trials and commercial readiness.

The Trellis Research Group is a core innovation hub within KU Leuven focused on the development of novel AAV vectors and translational research tools. Trellis brings extensive experience in viral vector design, characterisation and process innovation, making it a key partner in the new hub’s scientific and technological foundation.

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