Cost-Effective, High-Yield Production System for Human- Like Blood-Clotting Factors for Haemophilia Therapy
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Technology Offer Cost-effective, high-yield production system for human- like blood-clotting factors for haemophilia therapy Summary An Austrian university has developed a production system in fungi to produce an enzymatically active recombinant blood clotting factor. These factors can essentially reduce the risk of blood infections during haemophilia therapy. The world-wide new development enables a stable production of blood clotting factors, cheaper and higher yielding than human-based factor concentrates. They are looking for industrial partners for licence agreements, commercial and technical cooperation agreements. Creation Date 29 May 2015 Last Update 22 July 2015 Expiration Date 21 July 2016 Reference TOAT20150529001 Details Description In the past 20 years recombinant blood clotting factors have been developed, reducing or eliminating the risk of blood-borne infections during haemophilia therapy. Today, recombinant factors are approved worldwide for therapy. They are normally produced in mammalian systems. Mammalian cell systems and their fermentation and purification process, and especially the extensive quality assurance and testing, contribute enormously to the cost of the final product. For mammalian expression systems, the fermentation procedure is expensive and yields are much lower than those reported for various microbial systems, i.e. fungi. Yeasts and other fungi represent promising alternatives, because they provide well-studied cheap systems and can be grown in chemically defined media without any animal derived material. However, yeasts and fungi are deficient in a system modifying proteins post- translationally in terms of gamma-carboxylation. So until now, they have not been able to produce recombinant blood-clotting factors. An Austrian university has genetically modified the model organism Aspergillus nidulans and demonstrated that gamma-carboxylated prothrombin can be expressed and purified efficiently from fungal fermentation broths. Moreover, biological activity of the fungal produced prothrombin and its accompanying functional gamma-carboxylation could be demonstrated in various activity assays. For the first time an engineered functional, heterologous Vitamin K dependent-protein (VKD protein) production system has been established. For the production of functional mammalian-like clotting factors, fungal cells have to be Page 1 of 608 Ref: TOAT20150529001 Printed: 24 July 2015 engineered, owing to their inability to post-translationally modify glutamate residues (=gamma- carboxylation) of VKD dependent proteins (i.e. clotting factors). The reaction is performed in the endoplasmic reticulum by VKD gamma-carboxylase and vitamin K epoxidase. Proper localization of the carboxylase and epoxidase was established and enzymatic activity of both gamma-carboxylase and vitamin K epoxidase was confirmed in vitro and in vivo. The system was patented and a PCT application was filed in 2014. Next it will be necessary to develop and optimize the system in industrially suitable production strains to increase yield and uniformity of the final product. 2010 the market for haemophilia therapy was about 5.6 billion US$ with a growth of 6.7 % between 2002 and 2010. It was therefore one of the fastest growing markets. The production of recombinant blood clotting factors will become more important in the next few years. There is a high market potential for a future product, with lower costs related to production and quality assurance. The Austrian university is looking for a commercial partner from industry to further develop and exploit the technology. This could be in the form of a commercial agreement with technical assistance, a technical cooperation agreement or a license agreement. The university will provide its expertise for the further development into an industrially applicable system. Advantages and Innovations For the first time an engineered functional, heterologous VKD-protein (Vitamin K dependent protein) production system was established, which is not based on mammalian cells. Advantages: - well-studied fungi production system, therefore well-known and stable factors of production - more cost-effective fermentation procedure and higher yields in comparison to mammalian systems - human-like carboxylated functional blood clotting factors, equals quality of mammalian derived blood-clotting factors but cheaper and with higher yields! Stage of Development Under development/lab tested Comments Regarding Stage of Development Complex system working since Q3/2013, novel data in Q3/2014 IPR Status Patent(s) applied for but not yet granted Profile Origin Other Keywords Technology 006001016 Pharmaceutical Products / Drugs 006002006 Microbiology 006002010 Enzyme Technology Page 2 of 608 Ref: TOAT20150529001 Printed: 24 July 2015 Market 005002005 Other therapeutic (including defibrillators) 005003006 Other medical/health related (not elsewhere classified) 005005 Anatomy, Pathology, Immunology, Physiology NACE P.85.4.1 Post-secondary non-tertiary education P.85.4.2 Tertiary education Network Contact Issuing Partner PECS-BARANYAI KERESKEDELMI ES IPARKAMARA Contact Person Enterprise Europe Network Hungary Pecs Email [email protected] Client Type and Size of Organisation Behind the Profile University Year Established 1872 Already Engaged in Trans-National Cooperation Yes Languages Spoken English German Client Country Austria Partner Sought Page 3 of 608 Ref: TOAT20150529001 Printed: 24 July 2015 Type and Role of Partner Sought Type of partner sought: Industry, commercial partner to further develop and exploit the technology. This could be in the form of a commercial agreement with technical assistance, a license agreement or a technical cooperation agreement. Specific area of activity of the partner: Production and development of blood-clotting factors (and other carboxylation-dependent proteins) Task to be performed by the partner: Develop and optimize the system in industrially suitable production strains to increase yield and uniformity of the final product. The university will provide its expertise for the further development into an industrially applicable system. Type and Size of Partner Sought SME 11-50,SME <10,>500 MNE,251-500,SME 51-250,>500 Type of Partnership Considered License agreement Commercial agreement with technical assistance Technical cooperation agreement Page 4 of 608 Ref: TOAT20150529001 Printed: 24 July 2015 Technology Offer Highly reliable and highly efficient magnetically geared wind generator technology Summary An Austrian SME has developed one of the world’s most effective magnetic gear boxes. It is based on a very simple and unique engineering concept with highest torque densities, ideal for application in wind turbines. The energy conversion is contactless, resulting in higher system reliability and efficiency. The company is looking for partners for technical cooperation, research-, commercial- and/or joint-venture agreements. It is also open to financial- or license agreements. Creation Date 02 July 2015 Last Update 06 July 2015 Expiration Date 05 July 2016 Reference TOAT20150702001 Details Description Existing problems in wind turbine designs Currently, the mainstream wind turbine system features a mechanically geared generator with a partially rated converter. In this setup, a gearbox is used to step up the input speed of the generator. As shown in several studies, these gear boxes suffer from the extreme torques produced by the rotor blades. Overall, the general perceived operational lifetime of frequently serviced gearboxes is only 7-11 years, versus 20-25 years design life of wind turbines. Gearbox failures account for the largest amount of downtime, maintenance and loss of power generation while further incurring high repair and replacement expenses. However, loads are expected to increase even further in the future due to ever increasing power demands on wind turbine plants. As a consequence, gearless wind turbine concepts like direct drive (DD) systems have been developed. While these wind turbine systems may present some technological advantages, the economic incentives for a shift from geared systems to direct-drive are still insufficient. The high cost and weight associated with DD-generators are a key deterring factor and have hindered their widespread use up to now. Engineering Solution Magnetic gears have been investigated as an alternative technology, both to mechanical gears and permanent magnet generators of DD-systems. While keeping the setup of a wind turbine with a mechanically geared generator, such an arrangement would replace the mechanical gearbox with a magnetic gear. This requires only minimal changes to the existing drive train while combining both the mass and cost advantages of geared systems and the improved reliability and robustness of direct drive systems. The magnetic gearing technology developed by the Austrian company replaces the cogwheels Page 5 of 608 Ref: TOAT20150702001 Printed: 24 July 2015 of a mechanical gearbox with elements consisting of magnetic pole-pairs. As opposed to the circular motion of cogwheels, the magnetic elements are rotating around each other at a slightly tilted angle, therefore creating a ‘wobbling’ motion – hence termed Magnetic Wobbling Gearing (MWG). The design completely eliminates the need for additional lubrication and allows for higher torque densities, more precision, more flexible gearing ratios and higher durability. The lack of mechanically interlocking parts in the gearbox further significantly reduces noise