A High-Throughput Automation Platform for Accelerated AAV Stability Optimization

Background/Objectives: Recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) stands at the forefront of gene therapy development, requiring stable formulations to support the expanding therapeutic applications. The growing diversity of serotypes and engineered capsids often creates complex challenges for formulation development, thus demanding innovative formulation development strategies beyond traditional manual approaches to characterize a large formulation design space quickly to discover stable formulations. Methods: Here, we address this critical need through a high-throughput automation platform that dramatically enhances formulation development efficiency and capability through rapid formulation preparation and high-throughput AAV analytics. This system prepares 96 distinct formulations in 40 min and completes AAV compounding in 20 min per plate, with precise control of pH, buffer components, and AAV titers. Results: In a proof-of-concept formulation development study using AAV1, we screened 128 formulations across multiple buffer systems, pH ranges, and excipient combinations. This comprehensive approach successfully identified optimal stable high-titer AAV1 formulations (1.2 × 10¹⁴ vector genome (vg)/mL) that maintained stability under frozen, refrigerated, and room temperature storage conditions. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that this automation platform combined with high-throughput AAV analytics significantly accelerates formulation development, conserves AAV material, and enables systematic exploration of broader formulation design space. It allows us to achieve identification of robust and stable AAV formulations within a timeframe unmatched by traditional formulation development approaches.