June 26-29, 2022

May 17-20, 2022

LEIDEN, Netherlands, Nov. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — ProteoNic, a leading provider of technology and services for efficient production of biologics, today announced it has licensed its premium 2G UNic™ technology for boosting therapeutic protein production to Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD).  Under the agreement, Gilead gains non-exclusive commercial rights for application of ProteoNic’s technology platform to the development of its proprietary products from mammalian cells. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

ProteoNic’s protein expression technology improves production levels across a range of mammalian host cells and selection systems. It is applicable to all relevant protein classes, including standard antibodies, bispecifics, recombinant polyclonals and complex multi-chain molecules, and enables the economically viable production of difficult to express proteins. By increasing transcription and translation rates via a combination of novel genetic elements, the highest possible production levels are achieved without impacting product quality and cell line stability.  2G UNic™ technology can be readily combined with other protein expression-enhancing technologies to improve their performance and is functional in random and targeted integration.

Frank Pieper, CEO of ProteoNic commented:

“We are pleased that we can play a role in the production of Gilead’s therapeutic proteins. ProteoNic’s clients consistently achieve strongly increased cell line productivity and reduced manufacturing cost in the production of their biologics. We will continue our work towards reaching the maximum production potential for our clients.”

About ProteoNic

ProteoNic is a privately held company with offices in Leiden, the Netherlands and in the Boston area, USA. The company offers technology and services for the generation of cell lines with greatly improved biologics production characteristics, including production levels and stability. The company commercializes its proprietary 2G UNic™ technology through licensing and partnership arrangements. For more information, see www.proteonic.nl.

For more information please contact:

ProteoNic
Mark Posno, PhD
Vice President Business Development
T: +1 617 480 8016
E: posno@proteonic.nl

Leiden, the Netherlands, Feb 5, 2019.  ProteoNic Biotechnology BV announces that it licensed its 2G UNic™technology for boosting recombinant protein production to Eli Lilly and Company.

Under the agreement, Lilly gains non-exclusive commercial rights for application of the technology to the development of proprietary products. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

ProteoNic’s mammalian protein expression technology is designed to improve recombinant cell line production levels across a range of host cells, selection systems and protein targets. It increases transcription and translation rates via the combined effect of novel genetic elements, which together exert a powerful positive effect on recombinant protein production levels as well as on stability of expression. ProteoNic’s 2G UNic™can be combined with other technologies to improve their performance.

Frank Pieper, CEO of ProteoNic, states that 2G UNic™ technology can be instrumental in achieving the highest possible production levels and contribute to the economically viable production of both innovator and biosimilar products. ProteoNic will continue to work to reach maximum potential of the production of biologicals for current and future clients.

About ProteoNic Biotechnology BV

ProteoNic is a privately held company with offices in Leiden, the Netherlands and Boston, USA.

The company offers technology and services for the generation of cell lines with greatly improved biologics production characteristics, including production levels and stability. The company commercializes its proprietary 2G UNic™ technology through licensing and partnership arrangements. For more information, see www.proteonic.nl.

For more information please contact:
ProteoNic Biotechnology BV
Mark Posno
VP Business Development
T: +1 617 480 8016
E: posno@proteonic.nl

• Horizon’s GS null cell lines now include ProteoNic CHOGUN vector as standard
• Inclusion of vector provides customers with complete biomanufacturing platform

Cambridge, UK, 7 June 2016: Horizon Discovery Group plc (LSE: HZD) (“Horizon”), the world leader in the application of gene editing technologies including bioproduction cell lines, today announces it has entered into a non-exclusive Licensing Agreement with ProteoNic B.V. to provide the CHOGUN expression vector to customers alongside Horizon’s HD-BIOP3 GS Null CHO cell line as standard, providing a powerful and complete biomanufacturing platform.

When paired with the correct vector technology, a GS Null cell line increases the stringency of selection and enables identification of clones expressing biotherapeutic product at commercially viable levels, with reduced timelines and without the need for toxic Methionine Sulphoximine (MSX) as a selection agent.

Biomanufacturing in CHO cells is performed based on high-expressing clones, the identification of which can be streamlined through the use of metabolic selection.  Glutamine is an amino acid required for cellular viability and the only source of glutamine production in the cell is through the enzymatic action of Glutamine Synthetase (GS).  MSX inhibits GS activity in cells so that only those clones that are most efficient at producing recombinant protein are able to proliferate.  A major drawback with this approach however, is that MSX is toxic and requires removal during product purification.

A preferred approach is to start with a cell line that lacks GS entirely (GS Null).  When the gene for a biotherapeutic product is provided on a vector alongside GS, such as in the CHOGUN vector, production of GS is linked to the production of the protein of interest, and so cells that survive selection are more likely to be expressing the product at high levels.

The CHOGUN vector has been developed as part of the ProteoNic 2G UNic™ technology which comprises proprietary mammalian expression vectors and plug-in elements that affect different aspects of the protein production pathway. The combination of elements in the 2G UNic™ vectors provide a synergistic enhancement enabling the generation of high yield stable cell lines.

Paul Morrill, President, Products at Horizon Discovery Group commented: “Horizon’s GS Null CHO cell line, generated through the Company’s gene editing platform, has undergone extensive validation to confirm its suitability for biomanufacturing.  By including ProteoNic’s powerful expression vector, we are now able to offer customers a complete platform that showcases the full capabilities of these cells.”

Victor Schut, Chief Business Officer, ProteoNic said: “The CHOGUN vector has proven to be extremely effective in a variety of cell lines including Horizon’s GS Null CHO cell line.  We are excited to offer it to Horizon’s customers, providing another channel to access the 2G UNic™ technology for improved recombinant protein production. We believe that this platform is an attractive alternative for any other therapeutics, including biosimilars, producing system in the market today. We look forward to continuing to work together on future projects.”

Financial details of the agreements were not disclosed.

– ENDS –

Notes for Editors:

About Horizon Discovery Group plc www.horizondiscovery.com/
Horizon Discovery Group plc (LSE: HZD) (“Horizon”), is a world-leading gene editing company that designs and engineers genetically-modified cells and then applies them in research and clinical applications that advance human health.

Horizon’s core capabilities are built around its proprietary translational genomics platform, a highly precise and flexible suite of gene editing tools (rAAV, ZFN and CRISPR) able to alter almost any gene sequence in human or mammalian cell-lines.

Horizon offers over 23,000 catalogue products and related research services, almost all of which are based on the generation and application of cell and in vivo models that accurately recapitulate the disease-causing genetic anomalies found in diseases like cancer. Horizon’s commercial offering has been adopted by c1,400 unique research organisations in over 50 countries as well as in the Company’s own R&D pipeline to support a greater understanding of the genetic drivers of disease and the development of molecular, cell and gene therapies that can be prescribed on a personalised basis.

Horizon is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market under the ticker “HZD”.

For further information from Horizon Discovery Group plc, please contact:

Zyme Communications (Trade and Regional Media)
Katie Odgaard
Tel: +44 (0)7787 502 947
Email: katie.odgaard@zymecommunications.com

Consilium Strategic Communications (Financial Media and Investor Relations)
Amber Bielecka / Jessica Hodgson / Matthew Neal / Laura Thornton
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5701
Email: horizon@consilium-comms.com

Aragen Bioscience, Inc. (Aragen) announces that it has entered into an agreement with ProteoNic Biotechnology BV (ProteoNic) for the commercial use of ProteoNic’s 2G UNic™ recombinant protein production technology. Under the terms of the agreement, Aragen gains the rights to apply this technology to the development of recombinant cell lines with significantly enhanced commercial production levels compared to current methods. In combination with the value added services offered by Aragen, access to the technology will allow Aragen’s clients to increase manufacturing efficiency and reduce cost of goods for recombinant biologicals.

ProteoNic’s proprietary second generation mammalian expression technology is based on the synergistic effect of novel genetic elements which exert a powerful positive effect on recombinant protein production levels as well as on stability of expression. The technology has been demonstrated to be broadly applicable to various protein targets, multiple host cell lines as well as selection systems.  Importantly, it can be combined with most other production technologies for increased effectiveness.

“We have performed evaluations of ProteoNic’s 2G UNic™ technology for a number of products in stable and transient protein expression settings.  To date, we have consistently obtained a significant increase in cell culture productivity. We believe that the combination of this technology and Aragen’s services will provide significant value to our current and future clients.” commented Oren Beske, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer at Aragen Bioscience.

Victor Schut, Chief Business Officer at ProteoNic added, “Based on Aragen’s extensive client base and experience in cell line generation, this relationship will enable us to make available our technology more broadly than before, while maintaining the highest standards of execution. Companies outsourcing preclinical drug development to Aragen will now have access to ProteoNic’s technology for generating high performance cell lines.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Aragen will offer cell line development services including ProteoNic technology for production of biologicals for commercial use under a fee for service relationship.  The ProteoNic technology is offered without a royalty.

About Aragen Bioscience
Aragen Bioscience, Inc. (Aragen, Morgan Hill, CA, USA) is a privately held contract research organization with offices and laboratories in the San Francisco Bay Area. Aragen Bioscience offers a diverse set of services for the discovery, characterization, activity assessment and early development of biologic and diagnostic products. More information on Aragen Bioscience can be found at www.aragenbio.com.

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

ProteoNic, the experts in vector design and protein production, presented an update on its recently launched 2G UNic™ (second generation) technology for improved biopharmaceutical recombinant protein production on 4 November 2013 at the Cell Culture & Bioprocessing Congress in London. 

ProteoNic, the experts 35th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals
April 29 – May 2, 2013