Form Bio and PacBio announced a range of new initiatives aimed at advancing and unifying the AAV industry. The initiatives, including an AAV data dictionary, open-source tools and more, are being driven by a new AAV Working Group, jointly assembled by Form Bio and PacBio and composed of leading AAV experts across industry and academia AAV is widely recognized as one of the most promising technologies for gene therapy due to its non-pathogenic nature. However, collaboration on AAV-based programs is often hindered by industry silos that lead to divergent terminology and methods, which can differ widely between various companies and institutions operating at the forefront of AAV innovation.

In addition, the lack of standard definitions and practices works against uniformity of regulatory submissions, making it harder and more time consuming for regulatory agencies to evaluate potential new therapies. In response, Form Bio and PacBio have convened leading experts to form an AAV Working Group dedicated to developing and promoting standardized nomenclature and reporting practices to foster consistency and reliability in AAV research and development. The charter of the newly formed AAV Working Group is to develop standardized nomenclature, establish standardized reporting, and promote widespread adoption of these initiatives.

Members of the AAV Working Group include: Nam Tonthat, Ph.D - Asklepios BioPharmaceutical. Pranam Chatterjee, Ph.D - Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University. Douglas McCarty, Ph.D - Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Phillip W.L. Tai, Ph.D - Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, UMass Chan Medical School. Horae Gene Therapy Center, UMass Chan Medical School. Adam Cockrell, Ph.D - Solid Biosciences.

Elizabeth Tseng, Ph.D - PacBio. Nadia Sellami, Ph.D - PacBio. Eric Talevich, Ph.D - Form Bio.

Alpha Diallo, Ph.D - Form Bio. Amicia Elliott, Ph.D - Form Bio. Brandi Cantarel, Ph.D - Form Bio.

Claire Aldridge, Ph.D - Form Bio.