In order to strengthen its gene therapy pipeline, Astellas Pharma has agreed to pay US$18 M upfront and committed up to US$1.6 B more to access Dyno Therapeutics’ CapsidMap™ artificial intelligence(AI) platform and develop gene therapies for skeletal and cardiac muscle disorders. By leveraging Dyno’s technology, the companies hope to overcome the limitations of naturally occurring viral capsids. The deal comes shortly after Astellas faced a series of major safety issues in the clinic with its pipeline gene therapy drug, AT132.