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DowpharmaSM Licenses Pfēnex Expression Technology™ to Biovel Life Sciences Private Limited Midland, MI - May 15, 2007 DowpharmaSM contract manufacturing services announced today that it has licensed its Pfēnex Expression Technology™ to Biovel Life Sciences Private Limited. The licensing agreement grants Biovel rights to employ the Pseudomonas-based technology for the production of Human Growth Hormone (HGH), a biosimilar product. Dowpharma has already developed a high-yield production strain and process for the production of HGH and will prepare and transfer to Biovel a Research Cell Bank and the production process. The agreement provides for an upfront Technology Access Fee, maintenance and milestone fees, as well as royalties on product sales; further financial details were not disclosed. Pfēnex Expression Technology™ is based on specially modified strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria and consistently outperforms other microbial systems. By improving quality and boosting yields of difficult-to-express proteins, the technology accelerates speed to market for vaccines and biotherapeutics, and reduces costs when compared to alternatives. “Using the Pfēnex Expression Technology platform, we were able to develop a very cost effective process for commercial-scale production of Human Growth Hormone,” commented Nick Hyde, global business director, DowpharmaSM. “Accelerating speed to market and reducing costs associated with drug development is a top priority for Dowpharma, and this agreement underscores our ability to deliver on that commitment.”“Pfēnex Expression Technology™ is recognized in the industry for delivering economical and practicable solutions, which is why we approached Dowpharma,” states P. Sudhakera Naidu, Biovel’s managing director and CEO. “The level of expertise and the Pfēnex Expression Technology offered by Dowpharma perfectly complements our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, built to international standards. Reputable research scientists will enable us to efficiently advance this project, including scale-up, pre-clinical testing and manufacturing and global marketing.” About Biovel Life Sciences Limited Biovel is an India-based fully integrated biotechnology enterprise, focused on research, manufacturing and marketing of biogenerics and biopharmaceuticals with initiatives in drug development and processing. Further, Biovel is acquiring novel drug delivery technologies and developing next generation drugs. About Pfēnex Expression Technology™ Using a natural isolate of Pseudomonas fluorescens, an abundant and non-infectious component of the microbial flora of soil, water, and plants, many high performance production strains have been developed. Proteins are expressed in high yields with correct disulfide bond formation, reduced proteolytic degradation and enhanced solubility/activity, making the process of strain development faster and more efficient than in traditional microbial expression host strain development. Dozens of host strains are tested in parallel to identify expression strategy/host cell combinations that result in improved target protein accumulation and/or stability. The technology is easily employed in traditional fermentation, recovery and purification settings with no need for additional, unique equipment.
Dowpharmasm contract manufacturing services provides the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries with innovative technologies, products and services for clients in drug discovery, development, manufacturing and delivery. Dowpharma offers process development, route selection, methods development, chiral capabilities and associated analytical services as well as manufacturing and scale-up from feasibility, through clinical trials, to commercial launch. Dowpharma currently manufactures small molecule APIs and intermediates, catalysts, cGMP polymers, and poly(ethylene) glycols (PEGs) and provides technology for protein expression through microbial fermentation. For more information on DowpharmaSM visit www.dowpharma.com For Editorial Information: Michael Altmann Urszula Murphy |
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