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Gene
Technology
The principal component of the
Bioprocess technology is an
E.coli based, proprietary
expression system which serves
as an excellent vehicle for
perfect constructs and which was
originally developed with a
US$10 million investment . The
technology has proven highly
effective in a number of
applications, many of which have
been licensed to third parties
for use as critical source
ingredients, primarily for
diagnostic applications.
Whereas several expression
vectors “for research only” may
be acquired from a number
of suppliers of tools of
molecular biology, the access
to, and
 control of, an
expression system which is not
restricted to such
non-commercial use, is a rather
unique feature typically
associated with leading gene
technology firms.
Such proprietary vectors have
properties which permit the
generation of so-called “perfect
constructs”, ie. enable the
expression of proteins which
contain the amino acid sequence
of interest only, devoid of any
carrier moiety. For research
purposes, one may well resort to
the use of expression systems
for fusion- or, hybrid type
proteins, the introduced carrier
often necessary in order to
secure adequate yields of the
recombinant polypeptide.
Unfortunately, adding irrelevant
carrier protein may severely
compromise the properties of the
active ingredient and is
outright unsuitable in products
under consideration for
pharmaceuticals.
Therefore, it is not surprising
that leading firms in the field
maintain strict control of the
very core of their gene
expression technology and are
only willing to consider its
out-licensing under defined
contractual circumstances.
Protein
Purification
Bioprocess International has
dedicated very significant
in-house resources to the
development of workable
purification protocols for all
of the proteins under current
focus. In several instances, the
availability of readily
applicable techniques has been
of particular value to licensees
of the company, as these have
helped to reduce the development
time for their application to
meet specific company needs.
However, Bioprocess is also
offering purified proteins in
bulk quantities to companies not
interested in in-house
manufacture of source
ingredients at all, but rather
desire to proceed towards the
immediate development and
manufacturing of sensitive
assays such as those required
for detecting infection with
blood-borne viral diseases, a
huge market where the company
maintains a patent position.
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