New South African company NewBiologix has launched with the aim of developing a proprietary and breakthrough platform for the advanced engineering of cell lines used to manufacture gene and cell therapies.
The company’s DNA-based platform is being developed to address manufacturing challenges associated with the production of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors used to produce advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs).
NewBiologix’s $50 million Series A financing was led by Recipharm A/S with additional funding from the company’s co-founders, Igor Fish and Nicolas Mermod.
“As the number of gene and cell therapies in the clinic and market continues to grow, improved manufacturing solutions for viral vectors are needed,” said co-founder and CEO, Igor Fisch. “Our mission is to help biopharmaceutical companies treat some of the most devastating diseases by providing them with innovative technologies and solutions to boost the production and efficacy of viral vectors, rapidly and more cost effectively.”
NewBiologix is currently focused on recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors, the preferred delivery vehicle for gene therapies. Specifically, the company’s technologies will be applied to human (HEK-293) and mammalian (CHO) cell lines.
“Current gene and cell therapies primarily focus on rare diseases. We believe our approach to generating rAAV vectors should help biopharmaceutical companies advance into emerging therapies that target larger patient populations with chronic conditions,” added co-founder and Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Nicolas Mermod.
NewBiologix uses next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based genome characterisation to develop a proprietary bioinformatics platform designed to improve cell line capabilities for the expression and production of ATMPs.
Photo shows: (pictured left to right) Deborah Ley, Mahendra S Rao, Sir Gregory Winter, Igor Fisch, Nicolas Mermod, Marc Func, Ulrike Lemke, Thierry Schuepbach (Credit: Business Wire).
