July 2, 2007
Biodesign, Mapp Biopharmaceutical and Kentucky Bioprocessing Collaborate to Develop Pharmaceuticals from Tobacco
The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, Mapp Biopharmaceutical and Kentucky Bioprocessing (KBP) will collaborate on developing, refining and producing low-cost pharmaceutical products for large cost sensitive markets in global health. The initial product targets include monoclonal antibodies for use in microbicides and mucosal vaccines to prevent transmission of certain infections. The three organizations also expect to collaborate on other products.
Charles Arntzen, PhD, of ASU’s Biodesign Institute is leading the team whose work is supported through funding from the National Institutes of Health, a component of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The goal of the initial collaboration is to move the vaccines and monoclonal antibodies into production and clinical trials.
The tobacco (Nicotiana Benthanmiana) plant based production system selected for use by the team offers the promise of a versatile, rapidly scalable platform for production of large volumes of product. In addition to these features, plant based manufacturing systems offer the ability to develop products at much lower cost than traditional biotechnology production methods. By producing the host tobacco plants in enclosed growth facilities the researchers expect to optimize the amount of product generated by each plant while minimizing any concerns over negative environmental impacts.
"While advances in biotechnology have provided the world with some incredible preventative, therapeutic and diagnostic products, these products are often very expensive, making them unavailable to many people, especially in the developing world," said Arntzen. "We believe that our work has the potential to pave the way for products that offer the same level of efficacy while meeting unmet needs of large, cost sensitive markets in global health," he said.
In acknowledging its role in the collaboration, KBP Chairman Hugh Haydon said, "We are delighted to be part of this distinguished team conducting such important work. The leadership of Dr.Arntzen and ASU along with the expertise of Mapp are perfect compliments to the experience and capabilities of KBP. We look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate the practical feasibility of developing a commercially scalable production system for these plant derived products."
The Biodesign Institute (www.biodesign.asu) is located on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University. It is a recognized international leader in the area of plant-based pharmaceutical research. The Biodesign Institute targets complex global challenges, fusing the biosciences with nanoscale engineering and advanced computing to develop solutions. Its research includes innovations that improve health care, provide renewable sources of energy, clean the environment; outpace the global threat of infectious disease; and enhance national security.
Mapp Biopharmaceutical (www.mappbio.com) was founded in 2003 to develop novel pharmaceuticals for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, focusing on unmet needs in global health. Mapp will lead the effort to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the microbicide in clinical trials.
Collaboration on tobacco-derived pharmaceuticals
KBP (www.kbpllc.com) is located in Owensboro, Kentucky and offers a unique facility and experience focused on expression, extraction, purification and commercial scale production of proteins and other products from plants. Tobacco plants producing the monoclonal antibodies will be grown in KBP’s state of the art controlled growth facilities and KBP will be responsible for developing and implementing a manufacturing process that is capable of producing large quantities of the products under cGMP conditions.
For more information:
The Biodesign Institute at ASU
Charles Arntzen, PhD
(480) 727-7322
