AAV-Kd-1

AAV-Kd-1 is an engineered, kidney-tropic adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid developed by Latus Bio in collaboration with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Discovered using a high-throughput, in vivo screening platform in non-human primates, AAV-Kd-1 is designed to overcome the limitations of conventional AAV vectors, such as AAV9, by providing enhanced and highly specific transduction of renal tissues while minimizing off-target systemic distribution. Preclinical studies in non-human primates demonstrate that systemic intravenous administration of AAV-Kd-1 achieves approximately five-fold higher kidney biodistribution compared to AAV9, with robust transduction of disease-relevant cell types including glomerular endothelial cells, podocytes, mesangial cells, and tubular cells. AAV-Kd-1 is being developed as a delivery vehicle for gene therapies targeting genetic and chronic kidney diseases.