Astellas becomes latest Dyno gene therapy partner with $1.6B biobucks pact to join Roche, Novartis, Sarepta

A $1.6 billion biobucks pact sounds like a whopping number. But for Dyno Therapeutics, the deal with Astellas Pharma is the latest in a string of partnerships for its gene therapy vectors platform.

Astellas is dishing out $18 million upfront and up to $1.6 billion in milestone and royalty payments to develop adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for gene therapies. The research tie-up follows a deal between Dyno and Roche and its Spark Therapeutics unit, which was disclosed last October and could balloon to above $1.8 billion.