SAFC signs CHOZN contracts with two Asian biopharma firms

Published: 5-Jun-2013

Expects to win further commercial sales and licensing contracts in the region


SAFC, the custom manufacturing division of Sigma-Aldrich, has won commercial sales and licensing contracts with two leading Asian biopharmaceutical companies for the CHOZN cell line production platform.

This technology consists of the CHOZN GS (-/-) CHO cell line and an optimised set of cGMP-produced, chemically defined (CD) media and feeds designed specifically for the cell line to maximise the production of monoclonal antibodies and other r-proteins. Powered by Sigma-Aldrich's CompoZr Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) technology, SAFC's cGMP-produced and tested CHOZN cell line was the first commercially available glutamine synthetase (GS) knockout CHO line on the market.

SAFC says the CHOZN GS (-/-) platform provides a stable cell line that results in faster, simpler selection and scale-up of high-producing manufacturing clones, saving weeks of development. In combination with the ZFN technology, CHOZN provides a gateway from development to commercialisation.

‘We are seeing a great deal of interest in our CHOZN platform in Asia as numerous pharmaceutical companies in the region are looking to enter this market,’ said Kevin Kayser, Director of SAFC’s CHOZN platform.

‘Going forward, we expect to see increased engagement throughout the region based on our ability to accelerate upstream development timelines.’

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