Touchlight And LenioBio Collaborate To Accelerate Development Of Protein Therapeutics For Pandemic Response

Touchlight to participate in LenioBio’s recently announced grant from CEPI

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.

“We are delighted to be working with LenioBio to further demonstrate the breadth of dbDNA applications. We are excited to supply our enzymatic DNA to be used in LenioBio’s cell free protein platform – the combination of two cell-free technologies is a perfect synergy and shows the power of engineering biology” commented Tommy Duncan, Chief Operating Officer of Touchlight.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Touchlight and explore the synergy between our innovative technologies to achieve unprecedented speed in scaled protein production,” said LenioBio CEO, Andre Goerke of the collaboration. “Having surveyed the DNA manufacturing landscape, it is clear to us that cell-free DNA amplification will greatly contribute, to produce vaccines within 100-Days and dbDNA is the field-leading innovation to support this ultra-rapid, advanced manufacture of essential vaccines and medicines.”