San Sebastian, Spain – June 2026 – The MAGIC consortium is pleased to announce an update to its partnership structure with the addition of three new partners to reinforce the consortium’s technical capabilities and support the successful delivery of project objectives through to completion.
- Optics11 Life (Netherlands)
- DiNABIOS (Germany)
- HOYA Consulting (Sweden)
These changes ensure continuity across key activities while further strengthening MAGIC’s scientific, technological, and translational capacity during the next phase of the project.
Accelerating technical progress through complementary expertise
To support continuity and accelerate technical development, the consortium has selected two specialised SMEs with highly complementary capabilities.
Optics11 Life joins the consortium with expertise in high-precision mechanobiology through its optical fibre interferometry platforms, which will play an important role in activities related to Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (UCMD) by enabling accurate quantification of tissue stiffness, one of the disease’s defining characteristics.
Alongside this, DiNABIOS brings specialised capabilities in the functional characterisation of engineered heart tissues (EHTs) and skeletal muscle models. This contribution is expected to significantly strengthen the consortium’s ability to achieve reliable and reproducible cardiac and skeletal muscle disease phenotyping across participating research groups.
Together, Optics11 Life and DiNABIOS provide the expertise needed to support the achievement of remaining milestones and deliverables while enhancing the overall scientific and translational impact of the project.
Strengthening exploitation and translation with HOYA Consulting
The consortium has also invited HOYA Consulting to join MAGIC in support of exploitation activities under WP9. With dedicated expertise in intellectual property, commercialisation, and exploitation strategy, HOYA Consulting will provide substantial added value and support a more coordinated approach across all beneficiaries.
They bring targeted expertise in advancing gene therapy and advanced therapy innovations toward clinical and commercial readiness. Their work focuses on addressing preclinical and commercialisation challenges through tailored support in intellectual property strategy, GMP-aligned development, and exploitation planning.
Supported by extensive experience in advanced therapies, patent landscape analysis, and a broad international network across the ATMP ecosystem, HOYA Consulting’s mission is to help translate innovation from bench to bedside. Their independent role within MAGIC will strengthen WP9 by enabling robust exploitation pathways, supporting joint IP opportunities, and maximising the long-term impact of consortium outcomes.
Partner Perspectives
“MAGIC brings together exceptional expertise across disease modelling, gene therapy and rare neuromuscular diseases. We are very pleased to become part of this consortium and look forward to contributing our perspective as the project advances toward its next phase of translational and long-term impact.”
Davide Danovi, HOYA Consulting
“At Optics11 Life, we are excited to join MAGIC and contribute our expertise in mechanobiology, 3D tissue engineering, and measuring mechanics and function of advanced in vitro models for neuromuscular disease research. We focus on measuring what cells feel, capturing the mechanical forces that drive cell behavior and disease progression, which is particularly relevant for muscular dystrophies. We look forward to working with the consortium to advance disease modelling and gene therapy approaches and to support translational progress toward meaningful impact for patients.”
Svetlana Pasteuning, Scientific Business Development Manager, Optics11 Life
“MAGIC represents exactly the kind of translational consortium where our platform creates genuine scientific value. Gene therapy vectors must be validated not only in skeletal muscle but also in the cardiac tissue of patients who carry the same genetic defect. Our EHT technology and DiNAQUBE™ platform are purpose-built for this kind of functional, human-relevant assessment—and contributing to a programme of this ambition is a significant step for DiNABIOS.”
Dr. Alexandra Rhoden, CEO, DiNABIOS
The MAGIC consortium looks forward to working closely with all three new partners as the project enters its next phase of delivery and translational development.
As part of this transition, BIOND is no longer a partner in the consortium following a change in strategic focus and priorities.
