WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dyno Therapeutics, Inc., a genetic technologies company applying artificial intelligence (AI) to solve the grand challenge of in vivo gene delivery, today announced that Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503) has exercised its option to license a novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid engineered for therapeutic delivery to skeletal muscle. This is the first capsid licensed from the companies’ research collaboration announced in December 2021, marking Dyno's first licensed muscle capsid and its second capsid license overall, following Roche's exercise of an option for a neurological disease capsid in January 2025. Dyno is the first company to successfully license an AI-designed AAV capsid for both central nervous system (CNS) and muscle gene therapies.
Gene therapies that address muscle disorders have long faced a fundamental problem: wild-type AAV capsids do not achieve therapeutic delivery to muscle except at high doses, creating safety risks and significant manufacturing costs that have challenged the field. Where traditional capsid discovery relies on rational design or directed evolution, Dyno applies AI models trained on billions of in vivo measurements to engineer capsids with improved performance relative to conventional discovery approaches.
"Dyno was founded on the thesis that revolutionary AI technologies would enable us to solve longstanding challenges such as engineering AAV capsids for improved gene delivery, and this license is evidence that we're achieving that vision," said Eric Kelsic, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Cofounder of Dyno Therapeutics. "Astellas' decision to license a Dyno muscle capsid validates years of AI platform development and positions this capsid as one of the most promising gene delivery vectors ready for clinical advancement. The Dyno-Astellas partnership reflects Astellas’ commitment to investing in innovative new technologies with the potential to transform patient lives by solving for the root causes of genetic disease."
The licensed Dyno capsid demonstrates superior skeletal muscle targeting in nonhuman primates (NHP) while leveraging existing AAV9-based manufacturing processes to enable efficient, large-scale production.
“This capsid demonstrates that Dyno’s AI can navigate capsid sequence space at a scale and speed that traditional methods simply can't match, and our NHP data reflects that,” said Adrian Veres, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Cofounder of Dyno Therapeutics. “We’re achieving safer, more effective therapeutic delivery to skeletal and cardiac muscle at low doses that were out of reach just a few years ago.”
Under the terms of the 2021 collaboration agreement, Astellas will pay Dyno a $15 million license fee and will be responsible for preclinical, clinical, and commercialization activities for gene therapy candidates using the licensed capsid. Dyno is also eligible to receive clinical development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on any resulting products.
Gene therapy developers interested in direct licensing or accessing Dyno's AI-designed capsid portfolio via the Dyno Frontiers Program can contact partnerwith@dynotx.com.
About Dyno Therapeutics
Dyno Therapeutics is on a mission to build high-performance genetic technologies that transform patients’ lives. Dyno applies AI to create better technologies for gene delivery and sequence design to increase “Genetic Agency” - an individual's ability to take action at the genetic level to live a healthier life - through safe, effective and widely accessible genetic treatments. With frontier AI models and high-throughput in vivo experimentation, Dyno designs optimized AAV delivery vectors that solve gene delivery challenges across a wide range of therapeutic applications including eye, muscle and CNS. Dyno partners across industries to ensure these life-transforming technologies can help as many patients as possible, including through strategic collaborations with leading gene therapy developers Astellas and Roche, and with technology companies including NVIDIA. Visit www.dynotx.com for more information.
Media Contact:
Thermal for Dyno Therapeutics
dynotx@thermalpr.com