Latest News

  Navigating the fast-paced cell and gene therapy landscape? Stay ahead of the curve with our curated news on viral vectors in cell & gene therapy October 2024 edition. Read here: Virica's Industry Insights- October 2024 Edition.  

Virica Biotech and eXmoor Pharma have announce a new collaboration project funded by a joint UK-Canada government initiative.  This project aims to enhance the manufacturing of adeno-associated vectors (AAVs) crucial for gene therapies, ultimately reducing costs and improving the accessibility of life-saving therapies.  The collaborative project will utilize Virica’s VSEs™, small molecules that have been shown to increase productivity of AAVs, leveraging eXmoor’s scale-up process development expertise to identify top candidates and deploy them at commercial scale upon completion of the project next year. Press Release: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241017137541/en/eXmoor-and-Virica-receive-funding-to-improve-AAV-gene-therapy-manufacturing Learn more about eXmoor Pharma’s CDMO services for Cell and Gene Therapies Here

Wednesday November 20th,  08:00 PST / 11:00 EST / 16:00 GMT / 17:00 CET Virica Biotech and Culture Biosciences will present innovative solutions to address the high costs associated with gene therapy manufacturing. Real-world case studies will highlight improved productivity, shorter timelines, and more efficient scale-up. Attendees will gain insights into optimizing AAV production using data-driven solutions, which offer significant advantages over traditional methods. Register Here

Virica Biotech and Ginkgo Bioworks have announced a strategic partnership aimed at improving AAV gene therapy production. Virica will provide a panel of its Viral Sensitizer Enhancers (VSETM) to Ginkgo for high-throughput AAV production screening, while Ginkgo will utilize its advanced screening platform to test VSEs directly in clients' cell lines. This collaboration is expected to drive down manufacturing costs and make gene therapies more accessible, combining Ginkgo's cutting-edge screening capabilities with Virica's proprietary technology. Read the Press Release

Navigating the fast-paced cell and gene therapy landscape? Stay ahead of the curve with our curated news on viral vectors in cell & gene therapy July 2024 edition. Read here: Virica's Industry Insights- July Edition.  

Invest Ottawa announces Virica’s graduation from its flagship program following significant growth, increased revenue, team expansion, creating numerous jobs, and securing critical funding. As Virica transitions to the IO ScaleUp program, its aim is to expand services, enter new markets, and continue helping life-saving cell and gene therapies scale. Read Full Article: LINK HERE

  On June 24, 2024, Yasir Naqvi, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), announced a $1.5 million repayable investment to support the expansion of Virica's new facility at the Carleton University.  The new facility offers a significant expansion of bioprocess services and improved infrastructure, multiplying our capacity to provide high-throughput virology services for clients looking to optimize the production of cell and gene therapies. Key highlights: Expanded high throughput virology services. State-of-the-art [...]

Virica has been selected as a project lead for one of NIIMBL | The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals planned projects, which aim to address key opportunities for innovation in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. NIIMBL is a public-private partnership whose mission is to accelerate biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Virica, with support from NIIMBL members AstraZeneca and Sartorius Stedim Biotech, aims to increase lentiviral vector production outputs, cut costs, and improve manufacturing efficiency for CAR-T using small-molecule enhancers. Read NIIMBL’s full press release

Navigating the fast-paced cell and gene therapy landscape? Stay ahead of the curve with our curated news on viral vectors in cell & gene therapy April 2024 edition. Read here: Virica's Industry Insights- April Edition.  

Our own Ella Korets-Smith, Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder of Virica Biotech, has been featured in the Ottawa Business Journal for her impactful role in advancing breakthrough biotechnology to “democratize gene therapy.” Virica’s vision is to make gene therapies accessible and affordable. Ella shares her entrepreneurial journey building Virica from an idea to a thriving business, expressing enthusiasm for Virica’s growing momentum. Virica’s Viral Sensitizer (VSETM) Technology “makes cells more friendly to viruses,” unlocking improved yield and productivity to achieve the scale these life-saving therapies need. With over 50 clients starting to use the products and scale their platforms, the [...]