Project description
Very special ribbons may create unforgettable presents for millions
The Human Genome Project was one of the most ambitious and consequential international scientific undertakings of our time. At its completion in 2003, scientists had revealed nature's genetic blueprint for making a human being. Since then, the research community has been continuously innovating more and better ways to exploit that knowledge in the characterisation of disease processes and development of therapies to treat them. Now, the Austrian SME Ribbon Biolabs, through the EU-funded MiChomAbs project, is using its patented technology for the synthesis of long DNA molecules to develop and produce mini-chromosomes (MiChroms) for the high-throughput and cost-effective production of monoclonal antibodies. Significant reduction in costs could ensure these breakthrough therapies are broadly available to patients of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
Objective
Ribbon Biolabs has developed a unique, patented technology for the synthesis of long DNA molecules. As a key product in development through this platform, the company is targeting at the development and production of small, chromosome-like synthetic modular genetic units - which we term MiChroms - for monoclonal antibody production. The production of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) relies on unstable cell-lines, making the availability of the products limited and very expensive for the end user. Introducing MiChroms to the production process will solve this problem by making production batches larger and lower consumer prices, increasing the affordability of breakthrough medicines to a larger patient population. The MiChroms are tailored to specific cell-lines and specific biopharmaceutical mAbs and are independent modular genetic components that, unlike recombinant engineered master cell-lines, do not interfere with the cell’s functioning. With this approach, we can increase cell-line stability and also cover the market needs. Moreover, the model is scalable because it is bound to reduce production costs, reduce price of the end product and increase supply and product portfolio, benefitting the end user. Our main target market is the development of new biologics, specifically monoclonal antibodies for therapeutics, but will also target biosimilars of the main blockbuster antibodies. We plan to sell our genetic design to companies producing and developing biosimilars, where our roles are: a) the design of the artificial chromosome that is suitable for specific mammalian cell lines (e.g. CHO cells) and b) genetic variants in terms of biopharmaceutical copy-number and post-translational variations. Ribbon Biolabs restricts itself to the production of the mini chromosomes but provides variants as required for the clients to determine the tailored sequence that best fits their lines and processes.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
1110 Wien
Austria
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.