Lonza, Synpromics Partner on Inducible Promoter Platform

On May 16, 2019, Lonza Pharma & Biotech announced a partnership with Synpromics, an Edinburgh, Scotland-based company focused on gene control, for the commercialization of inducible promoters to improve biomanufacturing.

Lonza reports that it will use the inducible promoters to enable biological drug production for several types of drugs as part of the company’s strategy to develop manufacturing solutions for a new generation of complex protein formats. Inducible promoters enable gene expression to be turned on or off in response to signals in the cell environment, enabling fine-tuning of bioproduction. The new promoters will allow Lonza to expand its offerings.

In April 2018, Synpromics was awarded an Innovate UK grant, which was used to work with Lonza to develop and test the promoters in Lonza’s GS Xceed Expression System.

“As the formats of innovative therapeutic proteins become more complex and harder to express, we are looking for new solutions to improve productivity,” said Sarah Holland, Global Head of Licensing, Lonza Pharma & Biotech, in a company press release. “Building on our successful collaboration with Synpromics, we aim to fully harness the potential of these inducible promoters for next-generation biomanufacturing.”

“We’re delighted with the outcome of the first phase of this project supported by Innovate UK,” said David Venables, CEO of Synpromics, in the release. “We have exceeded all our objectives and are pleased to be able to enter a commercial partnership with Lonza so that these new promoters can be brought rapidly to market.”

Source: Lonza