STELLENBOSCH, South Africa,
July 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
AzarGen Biotechnologies (Pty) Ltd (Stellenbosch, South Africa), announced that it has received
grant status for the patent application: PRODUCTION OF HUMAN
PULMONARY SURFACTANT PROTEIN-B IN PLANTS (EP3013963) from the
European Patent Office.
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Exogenous pulmonary surfactant is routinely being used in
surfactant replacement therapy applications to treat neonatal
respiratory distress syndrome (nRDS). Animal-derived surfactant
contains very low amounts of surfactant protein-B (SP-B), one of
the key proteins that combined with phospholipids, are essential to
lower surface tension and increase lung compliance during
breathing.
"With the focus on developing a new surfactant preparation, we
believe that by combining a high concentration of functional
recombinant human SP-B and analogs thereof with a synthetic lipid
mixture we may significantly improve pulmonary surfactant dynamics
with potential use in various inhalation drug delivery platforms."
said Dr. Cobus Zwiegelaar, COO of
AzarGen. "Using proprietary technology by iBio, Inc. (NYSE MKT:
IBIO), a leader in developing plant-based biopharmaceuticals, the
plant-made production platform offers new hope to produce
recombinant human SP-B proteins in sufficient amounts and purity,
at a significantly lower cost."
The biological complexity of native human SP-B structure
presents a major obstacle to obtain significant amounts of
active/functional SP-B and different methodologies ranging from the
extraction from animal (bovine or porcine) minced lungs to
solid-phase synthetic peptide synthesis, may be expensive and labor
intensive.
"We are optimistic about the commercial and public health
benefits of combining the inventive work of AzarGen with iBio's
proprietary technologies and capabilities," said Robert Erwin, President of iBio. "We are
committed to working closely with AzarGen to reduce the time
usually required with traditional technologies to move product
development and testing from one stage to the next, for both good
business reasons and to provide the best possible outcome for
patients."
AzarGen aims to develop novel synthetic pulmonary surfactant
formulations comprising functional recombinant human SP-B and/or
analogs thereof. This could extend the application of an exogenous
surfactant, used alone for surfactant replacement therapy or in
combination with other therapeutics, to treat a wider range of
respiratory conditions."
About iBio, Inc.
iBio, a leader in developing plant-based biopharmaceuticals,
provides a range of product and process development, analytical,
and manufacturing services at the large-scale development and
manufacturing facility of its subsidiary iBio CMO LLC in Bryan,
Texas. The facility houses laboratory and pilot-scale
operations, as well as large-scale automated hydroponic systems
capable of growing over four million plants as "in process
inventory" and delivering over 300 kilograms of therapeutic protein
pharmaceutical active ingredient per year. Facility capacity can be
doubled by adding additional plant growth equipment in a space
already reserved for that purpose.
iBio applies its technology for the benefit of its clients and
the advancement of its own product interests. The Company's
pipeline is comprised of proprietary candidates for the treatment
of a range of fibrotic diseases including idiopathic pulmonary
fibrosis, systemic sclerosis, and scleroderma. IBIO-CFB03, based on
the Company's proprietary gene expression technology, is the
Company's lead therapeutic candidate being advanced for IND
development.
Further information is available at: http://www.ibioinc.com
.
About AzarGen Biotechnologies (Pty) Ltd
AzarGen is a biotechnology company focused on developing human
therapeutic proteins using advanced genetic engineering and
synthetic biology techniques in plants. The company's lead
therapeutic candidate is a recombinant human surfactant protein
(based on rh-SPB) targeted for various respiratory disease
conditions. AzarGen has developed proprietary synthetic DNA
promoters for various expression platform applications in
plant-made pharmaceuticals, synthetic biology, and GMO-crop
improvement.
The AzarGen management team is supported by an experienced
advisory board for strategic guidance and intellectual property
management. Based in Stellenbosch, South
Africa, AzarGen has made great progress to move a portfolio
of proprietary biopharmaceutical products forward with support from
South Africa's Industrial
Development Corporation (IDC).
Further information is available at http://www.azargen.com .
Contact: Mauritz Venter,
+27218082764, mauritz@azargen.com
SOURCE Azargen Biotechnologies (pty) Ltd