ARTES Biotechnology and Midas Pharma signed Cooperation Contract

ARTES announced the collaboration with Midas for strategic marketing opportunities. Aim of the cooperation is the finding of suitable partners for defined pharmaceuticals projects like vaccine and pharmaceutical target development or transfer of Biosimilar processes.

ARTES is specialized in microbial cell line and process development as well as in technology transfer for pharmaceutical industry whereas Midas is an independent marketing and distribution company, which supports clients in finding potential partners and markets.

“We are confident, that we could, together with Midas’ worldwide representatives, break into new markets. Especially our vaccine development platform Metavax® has strong capabilities. The Metavax® platform is suitable for the development and production of cost-effective vaccines and therefore interesting for markets where price is an issue”, Dr. Melanie Piontek, Business Development Director of ARTES pointed out. “The highly expanded network of Midas will open for us new opportunities currently in regions where we not yet in. We are very pleased that, with Midas, we have been able to acquire a very competent and reliable partner.”

ARTES Biotechnology issued New Patent in Australia for VLP Technology

ARTES Biotechnology specialized in microbial cell line and process development as well as in technology transfer for pharmaceutical industry is pleased to announce the issuance of a new patent for their VLP platform. The patent will further strengthen the Metavax® platform of the company. In combination with the expression platform Hansenula Metavax® is a unique tool for the development of affordable, safe and effective vaccines.
“Our intellectual property strategy is to provide multiple layers of protection for our technology platform portfolio. We believe that this new patent will have additional reinforcement to our existing patent estate and for our service we offer clients for vaccine development,” said Dr. Melanie Piontek, Business Development Director of ARTES.

Strategic cooperation between ARTES Biotechnology and PAC

Artes and PAC join forces and combine their technologies and know-how.

ARTES Biotechnology specializes in recombinant protein production, process development in microbial expression systems and is a technology provider for pharmaceutical processes, while PAC (Peschek Analytic Consulting) is highly skilled in the field of protein analysis and quality control. Together with PAC, ARTES will now prospectively offer analysis of product quality control along side determination and quantification of by-products and/or process related residuals. The method analysis portfolio of PAC allows ARTES to offer method development and validation in accordance with GMP guidelines in the following analytical methods as HPLC-UV/DAD, Mass Spectrometry Ion Trap (LC-ESI/APCI MS/MS), Mass spectrometry Quadrupole (LC-ESI-MS), Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Capillary Electrophoresis, Dynamic Light Scattering and Electron Microscopy.

Strategic collaboration deal for vaccine development

ARTES Biotechnology, specialized in recombinant protein production and process development in microbial expression systems, started a development collaboration for two vaccines together with global biopharma-ceutical company Crucell. Crucell is focused on the research & development, production and marketing of vaccines and antibodies against infectious disease worldwide.

Aim of the long-term research cooperation is a new-product development on the basis of ARTES’ virus like particle (VLP) and the well-established Hansenula polymorpha expression system fitting to Crucell’s vaccine portfolio. The Hansenula system is the preferred technology for affordable mass vaccination and is recommended by the WHO for hepatitis B vaccination campaigns. In combination, the unique yeast based VLP approach builds a new and very economical approach to low-cost mass production of safe and effective vaccines.

Under the terms of the long-term research collaboration ARTES is responsible for delivery of the production cell lines and processes to Crucell.

ARTES and NL join in a strategic collaboration and co-marketing alliance

ARTES, specialized in recom-binant protein production and process development from yeast expression systems and the US based company NL Biotech-nologies, owner and specialized in certain tech-nologies for production of vaccines and diagnostic proteins started a strategic collaboration.

With signing this collaboration agreement the two companies combine their know-how and technologies in yeast expres-sion, process and vaccine development. The direct and noticeable aim is the marketing of efficient and cost effective vaccines and diagnostics proteins. The first product that is available right from the start is a Hansenula polymorpha derived Hepatitis E vaccine. Proof-of-principle and animal studies (mice and macaques) have been done and shown very good result and high immune answers.

“The Hepatitis E transmission is a person-to-person one, normally triggered to the fecal-oral route. Infections occur because of consumption of contaminated water and ingestion of raw or uncooked food – therefore it is a disease most common in developing countries,“ Vitaly Granovskiy, managing director of NL carried out. And Dr. Michael Piontek, managing director of ARTES added, ”With the Hepatitis E process we have another reliable and cost-efficient VLP-based production process in our portfolio. Like for HepB and avian flu, the manufacturing costs for this vaccine are low because of the effective technology behind. In our mind, it should be an inter-esting process particular for developing countries. “

The partners are now looking for companies to out-license the process.

New Scientific Board Member

Prof. PhD David Anderson
Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia, Deputy Director, Burnet Senior Principal Fellow.

Professor Anderson is an expert in Microbiology and Molecular Virology. He has focused his work on understanding the structure and assembly of hepatitis viruses, and the use of this information to design better diagnostics, vaccines and antiviral therapies for control of major viral infections of man. Professor Anderson has published more than 60 original research papers and invited chapters, and has been invited to speak on original research work at numerous national and international scientific meetings. He has been active in translation of research into practical outcomes through commercial ventures and academic collaborations and is an inventor on 10 patent families.

We are really proud to welcome Professor Anderson as our new board member and we are pleased that he will support ARTES. We are looking forward to a successful relationship.

BIO 2011, Washington DC

Meet us at the partnering “Business Forum” event of the Bio International Convention 2011 in Washington DC or contact us directly for a personal meeting!

The Bio 2011 is taking place from June 27 – 30.
Go to BIO website

ARTES steps further into the vaccine business by acquiring Anavax

ARTES Biotechnology announces today the acquirement of the ANAVAX virus-like particle (VLP) technology from Select Vaccines Ltd. ANAVAX is a patent-protected VLP technology that can be applied to the prevention of several infectious diseases.

With the combination of two excellent technology platforms, ANAVAX and the Hansenula expression system, ARTES has positioned itself as a unique partner for the vaccine industry.

The ANAVAX VLP platform has already been applied to the development of adjuvant-free vaccines against avian and swine flu, malaria and HIV. Hansenula is the preferred technology for affordable mass vaccination and is recommended by the WHO for hepatitis B vaccination campaigns. Together, the platforms build a new approach to low-cost mass production of safe and effective vaccines. ARTES’ business plan is to enhance its position as a preferred development partner for vaccine manufacturer.

Injectable Sustained Release Formulations of Therapeutic Proteins

Q Chip Ltd and ARTES Biotechnology GmbH announce that they have signed a Collaborative Agreement to explore the co-development of a new sustained release formulation of interferon alpha 2a for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C.

The study is designed to evaluate Q Chip’s Q-Sphera™ peptide and protein delivery platform to develop a new sustained release microsphere formulation composed of biocompatible polymers loaded with interferon alpha 2a manufactured from ARTES´ proprietary yeast Hansenula polymorpha expression system.

Q-Sphera™ is a highly enabling bio-encapsulation technology for the development of polymer based sustained release systems. No harsh solvents or manufacturing conditions are used in the production of drug (including peptides and proteins) loaded microspheres facilitating benign processing of labile molecules.
Hansenula based products, which are already marketed worldwide, are characterized by safety and cost efficiency superior to other microbial technologies. Interferon alpha 2a manufactured from Hansenula has proven to be better tolerated than the E. coli reference.

The collaboration aims to improve patient compliance and provide a more convenient dosing schedule compared with current marketed pegylated therapies through the development of a one month sustained release microsphere formulation. This first phase of the collaboration is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.

http://www.q-chip.com

ARTES and Rhein Minapharm continue their successful product development collaboration

Langenfeld and Cairo – ARTES Biotechnology and Rhein Minapharm Biogenetics jointly announced the successful production of a new target of a therapeutic protein. This is the first result of a long-term research collaboration that was signed in January 2008. Consequently, the two companies extended their collaboration in May 2009.

ARTES applied its proprietary Hansenula technology platform and know-how to the generation of a therapeutic protein chosen by Rhein Minapharm that is typically produced in E coli. Rhein Minapharms´s new target is now produced from the Hansenula platform at considerable higher yields and at reduced costs compared to alternative bacterial or yeast systems.

Under the terms of agreement ARTES handed over the production cell lines and received another milestone payment. Additionally, ARTES and Rhein Minapharm extended their collaboration aiming at additional targets for Minapharm´s portfolio. ARTES will be responsible for the generation of new production cell lines and will share the process research and development responsibility with Minapharm.

“Our long-term agreement is an important milestone in the existing relationship between our companies and we are really proud that our strain and process development work enables Rhein Minapharm to develop their innovative target pipeline and to save production costs,” said Dr. Michael Piontek, founder and Managing Director of ARTES.

Dr. Wafik Bardissi, Chairman and CEO of Minapharm added:
“Together with ARTES, we are creating a cross-functional R&D teamwork to further endow our pipeline with affordability and innovation, characteristic of Hansenula derived proteins already in clinical practice and key market drivers of our emerging markets.”

http://www.minapharm.com