BioWorld International Correspondent
PARIS - BioProtein Technologies entered into a strategic alliance with Eurogentec Group for the production of therapeutic proteins.
BioProtein Technologies is a French biotechnology company specialized in the production of proteins in the milk of genetically modified rabbits.
Eurogentec, of Liège, Belgium, will handle the downstream processing of recombinant proteins produced by Paris-based BioProtein, as well as provide research and development services. It is not an exclusive arrangement since, as BioProtein Technologies' CEO, Marc Le Bozec, told BioWorld International, the agreement provides only for BioProtein to "consult Eurogentec first for any new project."
Eurogentec would earmark part of its capacity for BioProtein for both the production of proteins and for R&D projects, Le Bozec said, but BioProtein would still need to use other companies and is looking to line up second-rank subcontractors. Eurogentec's production facilities comply with both European and North American GMP standards, and Le Bozec said subcontracting the final processing to Eurogentec would improve the quality of the recombinant proteins that BioProtein delivers to its biopharmaceutical customers. The rationale behind it is the need to deliver proteins of clinical-grade quality, whereas the proteins BioProtein supplies at present are for candidate therapeutics at the preclinical development stage.
BioProtein Technologies, which recently participated in the first successful cloning of a rabbit (see BioWorld International, April 3, 2002), was founded in 1998 and completed its first funding round in May 2001, raising €8 million (US$7.9 million). Its activities span the manufacturing process, from genes or cDNA expression to the extraction of recombinant proteins from the animal, and the products it manufactures include complex proteins such as monoclonal antibodies, hormones and vaccinating antigens.
The company will continue to produce its recombinant proteins solely from the milk of transgenic rabbits. It has two farms in western France that each produce sufficient rabbits to fuel two active projects, assuming that an average project requires the production of 10 kilos of protein per year. By the end of 2002, Le Bozec said, a third will be operational, thus increasing the company's capacity to six projects.
Le Bozec said he hopes the company will be involved in a total of 20 or so projects by the end of 2003, only some of which will be at the stage of protein production. But he stressed that the company's contracts with its customers are long-term ones, for 20 to 25 years, corresponding to the commercial life of a new drug, and that the company would supply its customers' requirements throughout a compound's life cycle.