CDMO ProBioGen Invests €20 million In Manufacturing Expansion
By Cyndi Root
ProBioGen, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) announced in a press release that it intends to invest €20 million in its biopharmaceutical manufacturing enterprise. CEO Dr. Wieland Wolf made the announcement to ceremony guests in Berlin, Germany. The funds are to be used in GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. The company also intends to build two bioreactors and increase staff from 75 to 150. Dr. Wolf said, "With an investment of around 20 million euros, we will strengthen our market position.”
Manufacturing Expansion
ProBioGen is authorized for GMP-compliant manufacturing by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company manufactures pre-clinical and GMP-grade material, specializing in therapeutic glyco-proteins and viral vaccines. Thomas Rose, molecular biologist, has pioneered a new way to increase cellular production by stimulating the cellular secretion apparatus. The manufacturing expansion will allow the company to improve the technique and develop other novel biotechnological processes to produce cell lines.
About ProBioGen
ProBioGen was acquired by Minapharm Pharmaceuticals in 2010. The acquisition occurred after a long history of successful cooperation between the two companies. In June 2014, ProBioGen announced that it licensed its GlymaxX Antibody Glyco-Engineering technology to Novartis on a non-exclusive basis. The technology integrates a heterologous enzyme into antibody producer cell lines, interfering with the cells’ intracellular fucose biosynthesis pathway, thereby enhancing Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity (ADCC). Enhancing ADCC increases the therapeutic effect and reduces side effects. ProBioGen also recently licensed the technology to Merus, a cancer therapeutics company.
In 2013, ProBioGen issued a non-exclusive license to Emergent BioSolutions for ProBioGen’s avian AGE1.CR cell line for the production of vaccines against infectious diseases. The cell line is derived from a Muscovy duck as an alternative to chicken cells. The company holds a patent for the Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) virus on permanent duck cell lines for viral vaccines, confirmed in October 2013 by the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office. ProBioGen was first to demonstrate with the AGE1.CR.pIX cell line that MVA can be produced in duck cell lines. Dr. Wolf commented on the patent saying, “The decision of the Patent Office confirms ProBioGen’s strong position in the vector-based vaccine field. The upheld IP protection of this pioneering platform technology also provides planning security for our existing and for future licensees.”