South San Francisco, Calif., September 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)

GigaGen Inc., a biotechnology company advancing transformative antibody drugs for infectious diseases, transplant rejection and checkpoint resistant cancers, and a subsidiary of Grifols, announced today that it has signed a license agreement with Dutch biotech ProteoNic B.V. for the use of its premium 2G UnicTM technology platform to enable high-yield production of GigaGen’s mono- anhttps://www.proteonic.nl/d polyclonal antibody drug candidates.

Under the agreement, GigaGen gains non-exclusive, worldwide commercial rights for application of ProteoNic’s technology platform for the development and manufacturing of GigaGen’s recombinant antibody drugs. Financial terms include upfront and maintenance payments, as well as milestone payments per product.

ProteoNic’s protein expression technology, 2G UNic improves recombinant protein production levels across a range of mammalian host cells, selection systems and protein targets. This is achieved via the combined effect of novel genetic elements, which together exert a positive effect on recombinant protein production levels. The technology increases production levels of complex proteins which are difficult to produce, including bi-specifics and fusion molecules and levels of products already in the multiple g/L range. Additionally, 2G UNic can be used to boost performance of other expression-enhancing technologies.

About Grifols

Grifols is a global healthcare company founded in Barcelona in 1909 committed to improving the health and well-being of people around the world. Its four divisions – Bioscience, Diagnostic, Hospital and Bio Supplies – develop, produce and market innovative solutions and services that are sold in more than 100 countries.

Pioneers in the plasma industry, Grifols operates a growing network of donation centers worldwide. It transforms collected plasma into essential medicines to treat chronic, rare and, at times, life-threatening conditions. As a recognized leader in transfusion medicine, Grifols also offers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions designed to enhance safety from donation to transfusion. In addition, the company supplies tools, information and services that enable hospitals, pharmacies and healthcare professionals to efficiently deliver expert medical care.

Grifols, with nearly 24,000 employees in more than 30 countries and regions, is committed to a sustainable business model that sets the standard for continuous innovation, quality, safety and ethical leadership.

In 2020, Grifols’ economic impact in its core countries of operation was EUR 7.5 billion. The company also generated 140,000 jobs, including indirect and induced.

The company’s class A shares are listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange, where they are part of the Ibex-35 (MCE:GRF). Grifols non-voting class B shares are listed on the Mercado Continuo (MCE:GRF.P) and on the U.S. NASDAQ through ADRs (NASDAQ:GRFS).

GigaGen is advancing transformative antibody drugs for immune deficiency, infectious diseases and checkpoint resistant cancers by leveraging industry-leading, single-cell technologies. Its novel technology platforms uniquely capture and recreate complete immune repertoires as functional antibody libraries.

This approach has enabled the creation of first-in-class recombinant polyclonal antibody therapies for the treatment of infectious diseases, including GigaGen’s lead asset GIGA-2050 for COVID-19. In addition, GigaGen’s lead oncology asset, GIGA-564, is an anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody that has demonstrated improved anti-tumor efficacy in vivo through a unique mechanism of action.

For more information, please visit www.grifols.com or www.gigagen.com.

About ProteoNic BV
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

Media contacts:

Monica Rouco Molina, Ph.D. LifeSci Communications
mroucomolina@lifescicomms.com Tel: +1-929-469-3850

Grifols Press Office

media@grifols.com

Tel. +34 571 00 02

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 

ProteoNic has relocated its headquarters, expanding its facilities at the Leiden Bio Science Park, the Netherlands.

As of March 20th, 2013 the company’s contact details are:

ProteoNic is a biotechnology company offering products and services for improving recombinant protein production levels for a range of eukaryotic production platforms (mammalian, yeast, insect, plant and expression hosts). The company’s proprietary UNic™ technology is used to enhance the translation of messenger RNA (mRNA) resulting in more protein per mRNA. This leads to significantly higher yields and greater manufacturing flexibility, with lower production costs. ProteoNic’s main markets are the biopharmaceutical protein and industrial enzyme production sectors.
ProteoNic offers contract services for expression vector construction and cell line or strain development in support of the implementation of UNic™ technology. The UNic™ technology toolbox products are provided under license agreement.

ProteoNic is winner of the 2010 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Award.

Leiden, Netherlands/Oxford, United Kingdom, March 7, 2013 – Dutch biotech company ProteoNic BV and Oxford Expression Technologies Ltd (OET), a leading provider of baculovirus-based protein expression products and services, have extended their partnership by signing a commercial license agreement. OET obtains the right to use ProteoNic’s UNic™ translation enhancing elements in its flashBAC™ system for third party recombinant protein production services. ProteoNic will provide technical support. Financial terms include upfront and royalty payments.

Both companies will be represented at BIO Europe Spring in Barcelona on March 11 -13 and are available for partnering meetings.
Under a previous collaboration, the two companies have successfully combined ProteoNic’s award-winning UNic™ translation enhancing technology with OET’s flashBAC™ system to significantly enhance recombinant protein yields in insect cells. Application of UNic™ not only allows increased overall efficiency and reduction of costs, but also facilitates (pre)clinical development of biopharmaceutical products that otherwise might be discarded due to difficulties in achieving acceptable production levels. This allows biopharmaceutical companies to broaden their pipeline and increase its value while reducing the drug development risk profile. From now on OET’s contract manufacturing services will include UNic™ technology.

Rory Woodhouse, Sales Manager at OET commented: “The combination of the unique UNicTM technology and the flashBACTM expression system has already proved itself to have a positive effect on eukaryotic protein expression. This new agreement will enable us to build on our partnership and experience with ProteoNic, working together to provide a superior platform for our customers with more challenging to express proteins.”

Victor Schut, Chief Business Officer at ProteoNic added: “We are pleased to have demonstrated the value of partnership in combining two proven technologies. This will allow our customers to benefit from both our expertise through only one service. The successful application of our technology in the flashBAC system adds another recombinant protein production platform to our portfolio enabling us to serve a new market for ProteoNic.”

Oxford Expression Technologies
Oxford Expression Technologies is a biotechnology company and centre of excellence for baculovirus protein expression. Specializing in the use of the baculovirus expression vector system, a eukaryotic expression system that can express a large variety of recombinant proteins, Oxford Expression Technologies provides protein expression products, services and consultancy to clients worldwide. The Company’s proprietary flashBAC™ technology enables large amounts of a given protein to be produced in culture. Its internationally renowned expertise and products enable proteins to be produced faster, more easily and cost-effectively using automated and high-throughput methods compared with other baculovirus systems. This contributes to the development of new drugs and research targeted towards understanding how proteins work in health and disease. For more information see www.oetltd.com.