Touchlight and LenioBio Collaborate to Accelerate Development of Protein Therapeutics for Pandemic Response
July 2, 2024 – BioManufacturing, Biotechnology, Other, Pharmaceutical – LenioBio, Touchlight, dbDNA, pandemic response, proteomics
Touchlight to participate in LenioBio’s recently announced grant from CEPI
2 July 2024 — Hampton, UK, and Düsseldorf, Germany — LenioBio, a biotech company pioneering cell-free protein production, and Touchlight, the leader in enzymatic DNA production, are pleased to announce a supply agreement aimed at leveraging the revolutionary capabilities of Touchlight’s rapid enzymatic doggybone DNA (dbDNA), to achieve unprecedented speed in vaccine development and manufacture in the context of LenioBio’s CEPI grant.
LenioBio’s recently announced CEPI-funded project aims to showcase the capacity of their proprietary plant-based, cell-free ALiCE (Almost Living Cell-Free Expression) technology to significantly accelerate vaccine development. This initiative aligns with CEPI’s 100 Days Mission, to develop vaccines against novel pathogens within 100 days of a threat emerging. ALiCE already has a proven track record producing vaccine-relevant proteins within just 48 hours, offering a substantial speed advantage over existing methods. However, ensuring a fast and reliable DNA supply – a crucial component for protein production – poses a critical challenge, especially in epidemic or pandemic situations. In this context, Touchlight’s dbDNA offers a game-changing solution, promising a rapid, scalable, superior and resilient cell-free alternative to traditional bacterial manufacturing methods.
dbDNA is a minimal, linear, double stranded, covalently closed DNA vector in the shape of a ‘doggybone’ produced using enzymatic manufacturing methods. Eliminating the need for traditional bacterial fermentation methods, dbDNA can be produced at GMP quality at unprecedented speed, scale and purity. By coupling of Touchlight’s enzymatic dbDNA with LenioBio’s cell-free protein production process, a seamless end-to-end manufacturing process for pandemic preparedness will be established.
About Touchlight
Touchlight is a privately-owned innovation-driven CDMO based in London, UK, focused on the provision of DNA services and manufacture of enzymatically produced doggybone DNA (dbDNA) to enable the development of genetic medicines. Touchlight provides rapid, enzymatic DNA development and manufacturing for all advanced therapy production, including mRNA, viral and non-viral gene therapy and DNA API. dbDNA is a minimal, linear, covalently closed structure, which eliminates bacterial sequences. Touchlight’s revolutionary enzymatic production platform enables unprecedented speed, scale and the ability to target genes with a size and complexity that is impossible with current technologies. Clients can be supported from pre-clinical through clinical development, to licencing and tech transfer for use in-house. Visit: touchlight.com.
About LenioBio GmbH
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. Visit: leniobio.com.
