ProteoNic awarded European FP7 funding in EUR 9 million project
Leiden, the Netherlands, 23 January 2014 – ProteoNic BV, a leading provider of technology for recombinant protein production, will participate in an international consortium that has been awarded a EUR 7 million Framework Program 7 (FP7) Research Grant by the European Commission. The FP7 grant will support the development of novel enzymes for efficient production of antioxidants.
The 4 year OPTIBIOCAT project (“Optimized esterase biocatalysts for cost-effective industrial production”) focuses on development of enzymes for sustainable production of compounds for cosmetic applications. These novel enzymes will allow catalysis of new reactions and more efficient biotransformations.
The parameters that determine the techno-economic viability of the new processes will be tackled by an international team of scientists from institutions and companies. This includes discovery of novel enzymes by mining for new genes from available genomes, improving the efficiency of fermentation and production, and stabilizing enzyme formulations and life cycle of the biocatalyst.
ProteoNic will contribute by applying its UNic™ Technology and expertise in recombinant protein production to enable the characterization and efficient production of newly designed biocatalysts.
“We are looking forward to contributing our expertise in the area of optimization of recombinant protein production to this exiting project. We believe ProteoNic’s UNic™ Technology will not only shorten development timelines, but also significantly reduce future costs of up scaling and production” said Dr. Raymond Verhaert, Chief Scientific Officer at ProteoNic.
The project, executed by a multidisciplinary consortium of 16 partners, including academic institutions and biotech companies from 8 EU countries, is led by the Department of Chemical Sciences of the University of Naples “Federico II”. The project is funded under Grant Agreement 613868.
ProteoNic
ProteoNic is a biotechnology company offering products and services for improving recombinant protein production for a range of eukaryotic production platforms, including mammalian, yeast and insect cells. The company’s proprietary UNic™ technology provides significantly higher yields and greater manufacturing flexibility, with lower production costs.
UNic™ technology toolbox products are provided under royalty free license agreement.
ProteoNic is winner of the 2010 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Award.
For more information contact:
ProteoNic
Raymond Verhaert
press@proteonic.nl
+31 71 332 2727