Düsseldorf, Germany & Indianapolis, USA – 15th March 2018
Proteins are the building blocks of science and the speed, quality and efficiency of protein production research is being advanced through an agreement between Dow AgroSciences LLC, and life sciences startup LenioBio. Today the companies announce an exclusive license to enable LenioBio to utilize Dow AgroSciences’ proprietary eukaryotic cell-free protein expression technology. LenioBio will market the innovation to bio-pharmaceutical developers under the brand name ALiCE®.
While cell-free protein expression done today enables protein chemists to quickly produce small amounts of proteins when screening DNA libraries, there is a need for higher protein expression yields. The higher production efficiencies gained by ALiCE will make it possible for bio-pharmaceutical researchers to detect a significantly higher number of candidates from each DNA library screened, eventually leading to a higher number of viable candidates for development. ALiCE also offers the option to produce larger quantities of proteins.
This innovative cell-free protein expression system was developed by Dow AgroSciences in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME under a long-standing strategic alliance. This technology has been used successfully in agricultural research.
“Today’s protein research demands speed and robust technology. Our cell-free approach enables high-quantity protein to be produced and validated in days instead of weeks. Dow AgroSciences, together with our partner Fraunhofer IME,are committed to making the technology accessible to the bio-pharmaceutical market, and this license to LenioBio is key to the development and commercialization of this technology,” said Steven Webb, Ph.D., external technology leader, Dow AgroSciences.
“ALiCE is superior in terms of protein yield to other cell-free expression systems currently on the market, which makes it ideal for the discovery of new protein drugs. We want to enable bio-pharmaceutical developers and other protein chemists to take full advantage of this system, which has established a solid record of accomplishment with Dow AgroSciences,” said Remberto Martis, Ph.D., co-founder and chief executive officer of LenioBio.
LenioBio will launch the ALiCE platform this year initially as an expression kit that yields much higher amounts of proteins on average than other cell-free protein expression kits. Going forward,the company also will launch a unique protein production toolbox for bio-pharmaceutical developers to fine-tune and produce their protein candidates for pre-clinical and clinical trials in-house.
About LenioBio
LenioBio is a life-science biotechnology firm dedicated advancing transformative technology for the discovery, development, and large-scale production of proteins, liberating the process from conventional limitations of cells. Pioneered by LenioBio, ALiCE® is an innovative eukaryotic protein expression platform that empowers scientists globally to accelerate the discovery and development of life-saving medicines and vaccines.
Please visit our website at www.leniobio.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
About Corteva Agriscience®, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont®
Corteva Agriscience is currently the agriculture division of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP) and is intended to become an independent, publicly traded company once the previously announced spin-off is complete by June 2019. The division combines the strengths of DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences. Corteva Agriscience provides growers around the world with the most complete portfolio in the industry, including some of the most recognized brands in agriculture: Pioneer®, Encirca®, the newly launched Brevant™ Seeds, award-winning Crop Protection products, while bringing new products to market through our solid pipeline of action chemistry and technologies. More information can be found at www.corteva.com.