Latest News

Closing the gap: Modeling benefits of AAV scale-up using novel enhancers In partnership with Cell and Gene Insights, Virica will present on the benefits of viral sensitizers and show how bioprocessing modeling can be used to inform decisions related to scaling up or scaling out processes. Presenters will include; Dr. Jean-Simon Diallo (CEO Virica Biotech), Jondavid De Jong (VP, Scientific Operations), Anreao Vervoort (Technical Lead at Virica Biotech). Expect to gain a better understanding of: The impact of innate antiviral defenses on viral vector yield and quality An overview of the mode of action and benefits of VSEs A [...]

Innate cellular antiviral defences present a significant challenge to viral vector production and transduction for cell and gene therapy manufacturing. Learn about what they are, the challenges they pose and Virica's solution to mitigating its impact on viral vector yield and quality. View infographic here: Antiviral Defenses: What You Need to Know          

In this interview Jean-Simon Diallo, CEO and Scientific Founder, and JonDavid De Jong, VP Scientific Operations discuss the challenges antiviral defenses pose to the successful production of vaccines and advanced therapies and what Virica is doing to tackle this problem. Check out the interview with BioInsights here! Read full interview:  Virica's BioInsights Interview

The impact of innate cellular antiviral defenses has emerged as a crucial area of investigation in viral vector manufacturing. Several recent publications have highlighted that the cell's natural response to the introduction of foreign genetic material can trigger defenses that hinder viral production efficiency. Although there have been any approaches to circumvent these barriers, the antiviral network's complexity is not an easy limitation to overcome. Learn more about the antiviral defenses present in current manufacturing  cell lines and strategies to mitigate their impact on viral vector production in this white paper, "The Impact of Antiviral Impact on Viral Vector Production."

Virica is pleased to announce it is part of the Canadian Pandemic Preparedness Hub (CP2H), a new research hub designed to protect Canadians against future pandemics and emerging threats. This multidisciplinary hub is part of an investment by the Government of Canada to grow a strong and competitive biomanufacturing and life sciences sector. “To continue to protect Canadians and to build a resilient biomanufacturing ecosystem, our government is taking every action possible to be equipped with the best tools. We’re proud to foster the research needed to produce cutting-edge discoveries and products in our very own labs that will help [...]

Dr. Jean-Simon Diallo, Virica’s Scientific Founder & CEO, attended and presented on the topic “Overcoming barriers in viral vector manufacturing: Small molecule targeting of antiviral defenses” at the recent Cell Culture Engineering conference. Key takeaways noted for Dr. Jean-Simon Diallo were:  What was surprising:  Several talks made mention of antiviral defenses as an impediment to manufacturing which was a first for me. I was surprised to hear that companies essentially reproduced very similar data to the Pfizer team (LINK) and are also showing differences between HEK293 clones with respect to how much induction of antiviral defenses there is.    Key Areas for advancement:   [...]

 Ottawa, Canada – April 21, 2023 –Virica Biotech Inc. (“Virica”), a leading supplier and developer of novel viral enhancers, announced today it is expanding its bioprocessing facilities and increasing its capacity to scale up the manufacturing of viral medicines and vaccines. The Government of Ontario is supporting the expansion at sites in Ottawa with a $790,000 grant from the Ontario Together Fund (“OTF”). The expansion project aims to (i) grow Virica’s bioprocessing capacity to keep pace with client demand for scaling up viral medicines, (ii) advance new vaccine process development lines, and (iii) support Ontario’s preparedness for future public health [...]

Ottawa, Canada- January 5th, 2023- Virica Biotech Inc. ("Virica"), a leading supplier and developer of viral enhancers for scaling of viral medicines, announced today that Beth Thompson-Webb will be joining the company as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), effective January 9, 2023. Based out of Boston, MA, Ms. Thompson-Webb will be leading Virica’s commercial efforts to drive global sales and new business growth. “We are pleased to welcome Ms. Thompson-Webb to Virica’s executive team,” said Dr. Jean-Simon Diallo, CEO and Co-Founder at Virica. “I look forward to having Beth’s commercial leadership, as we expand the reach of our products to improve the [...]

With the holidays upon us, it is time to reflect on what Virica Biotech has accomplished in 2022, thanks to the hard work of our employees and partners. Read the full letter here.

Virica Biotech Inc. (“Virica”), a leading developer of solutions for scaling of viral medicines, will be featured in a live webinar to be held on Monday, November 14, 2022, at 2:30pm EST. This webinar will focus on process intensification in the manufacturing of adeno associated virus (AAV) vectors. Tune into this free webinar to learn about: AAV biology and its use in cell and gene therapies State-of-the-art production of cell and gene therapies Current process intensification methods: cell line and vector engineering, media optimization, and bioreactor design to increase yields New strategies to properly attenuate anti-viral defences in the production [...]