By Dr. Matt Wilkinson
German biotech company, Greenovation has received a broad ranging US
patent for its unique moss-based biopharmaceutical production technology.
The company's first US patent covers the use of plant-based
glycol-engineering and offers wide-ranging protection for the processing of
plant-specific sugar residues as an alternative to conventional production
techniques.

By genetically engineering mosses to produce specific proteins as well
as to over-express the glycotransferases that glycosylate the proteins,
biopharmaceutical products can be produced in a cost effective and safe
manner.

Greenovation's chief scientific officer, Dr Gilbert Gorr estimates
that this technology could lead to bioprocess cost reductions of around 50
per cent.

These cost savings derive from a variety of sources most notably from
the fact that the moss only needs water, minerals and a light source to
produce the biopharmaceuticals rather than the expensive cell culture medium
often needed to produce these drugs.

Dr Gorr explained that the photo-bioreactors consist of a tubular
glass system that utilises standard light sources to feed the photosynthesis
process that fuels the drug production.

The moss secretes the drugs into the supernatant solution which not
only leads to less downstream processing but also allows the same moss to be
used for months, simplifying the operation process significantly compared
with standard bioreactor set ups.

One of the major hurdles that the company is finding is the reluctance
of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to switch from their
established production methodologies.

Dr Gorr believes that one of the major reasons for this is the cost of
getting regulatory approval for producing biological drugs by different
methods as the process involves certain clinical trials to prove efficacy
and comparability.

Last June, Greenovation signed a licensing deal with Bayer Innovation
allowing them access to the company's protein glycosylation in plants.

At the time Gerd Seidl, global project leader for this field at Bayer
innovation said: "Collaboration with Greenovation will give us access to
innovative glycosylaiton technology that will complement our own skills and
technologies and ahs particular applicability to our work on plant-made
pharmaceuticals."


[www.in-pharmatechnologist.com]