Chromos gets another ACE partner
agreement with Centocor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson &
Johnson, to develop cell lines for the manufacture of biological
drugs.
The two companies will use Chromos' Artificial Chromosome Expression System for potential use in the clinical and commercial production of two undisclosed therapeutic proteins.
The ACE, or artificial chromosome expression, system is a gene-delivery technology used to generate high-expressing cell lines for protein production and is claimed to offer improved speed and protein yields over rival platforms.
Under the Centocor-funded alliance, Chromos will engineer cell lines specific for the expression of two of Centocor's therapeutic proteins using the ACE System. Centocor has the option to use the cell lines for scale-up and manufacture of the proteins, following the research phase of the agreement.
Chromos also has licensing agreements for the ACE technology with Switzerland's Lonza and Cambridge Antibody technology of the UK.
No financial details of the accord were disclosed.
