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Cobra Biologics and Centre for Process Innovation Announce Collaboration to Advance Development of Regenerative Medicines

Cobra Biologics

Cobra and the CPI collaborate to develop an industrial manufacturing platform for adeno-associated virus production

25 Feb 2016
Weylan Kiam-Laine
Microbiologist

Industry news

Cobra Biologics Ltd (Cobra), international CDMO of biologics and pharmaceuticals, and the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), a UK-based technology innovation centre, are collaborating on a project which will focus on the development of an Industrial Manufacturing Platform for Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) production to support gene therapy and regenerative medicine. The £1.8M project, which is being led by Cobra, is being funded to a value of £1.4M by Innovate UK via their 2015 competition for the development of regenerative medicines and cell therapies.

The project is one of five which together comprise an £8 million investment into collaborative R&D projects that address critical challenges faced by UK companies developing regenerative medicines and cell therapies as clinical treatments and commercial products.

The collaboration between Cobra and CPI will focus on AAV vectors which are safe and effective and are currently the delivery vehicle of choice for gene therapy treatments. However the advancement of these therapies into clinical trials is currently hampered by the lack of robust scalability needed to manufacture AAV vectors.

The proposed collaboration between Cobra and CPI will develop in depth scientific and technical understanding to allow a scalable and flexible manufacturing process to be developed to produce, purify and characterise a range of AAV vectors. This will enable the acceleration of more potential products into clinical testing and ultimately new medicines. This in turn will increase the chances of treatments being developed for a whole range of currently intractable diseases.

Peter Coleman, CEO Cobra Biologics commented: “Cobra has been a leading organisation in the development of the gene therapy sector for over 15 years now through its plasmid DNA and viral service offerings. We have seen through our customers an extraordinary growth in new potential medicines being put forward that utilise viral vectors as part of their production, such as Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell therapies. The collaboration between Cobra and CPI will help to address the need for a scalable AAV production process to meet the current and future needs of the gene therapy and regenerative medicine community in clinical trials and commercial supply.”

Dr Fergal O’Brien, Director of Biologics at CPI said: “CPI is delighted to be collaborating with Cobra Biologics Ltd and applying our expertise in developing scalable and industrial manufacturing platforms to AAV production. We see this project as a key enabler in meeting the current and future needs of the biologics industry and are delighted to be supporting a leading UK company in this sector.”

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Genome AnalysisGenomics, the study of genomes, includes functional genomics, evolutionary genomics and comparative genomics. There are many genomic technologies such as DNA sequencing of whole genomes, computational biology and bioinformatics. DNA and nucleic acids must be isolated and concentrated from cells for analysis with kits, automated analyzers and software. Other useful technologies for studying genomics include PCR, microarrays and electrophoresis.ProteomicsProteomics is the systemic bioinformatics study of proteins and amino acids, including their structure, size, function and identification. Tools used in proteomics include chromatography, blotting and gels, protein arrays, mass spectrometry and ELISA and associated analysis software. Analyzers and proteomic systems should be sensitive, high resolution, fast and may be automated for high-throughput.MicrobiologyMicrobiology is the study of microorganisms including protists, prokaryotes, fungi, and, often, viruses. Microorganisms are a useful research tool as genetic vectors and, in immunology, for antibiotic susceptibility testing, cellular biology and genetics. Microorganisms commonly grow readily in incubators with microbial culture media; this can contain chromogenic supplements to differentiate between cell lines. Estimate your culture’s density of microorganisms with colony counters, or screen and select colonies for desirable clones with automated colony pickers. Additionally, equipment is available to monitor environments for the presence of microbes and identify with microbial identification instruments. Find the best microbiology products in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.Cell-Based AssaysCell-based assays are used to monitor the presence, quantity and activities of a desired cellular analyte including drug molecules or biomarkers. This can reveal information on cell health (apoptosis, cytotoxicity, viability and proliferation assays), cell metabolism, cell migration and cell signaling mechanisms. Find the best cell-based assay products, kits and equipment with our peer reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receiving pricing direct from manufacturers.DNA / RNA Extraction and PurificationPurified DNA and RNA are required for numerous downstream molecular biology applications. Consequently, the importance of high-quality DNA/RNA extraction and purification equipment cannot be underestimated. Many purification kits are available and are typically optimized for nucleic acid type and source, including plasmid DNA, genomic DNA, mRNA, RNA and viral nucleic acid purification kits. Automated extraction and purification of nucleic acids can be implemented with magnetic bead separator instruments or high-throughput purification workstations. Find the best DNA/RNA extraction and purification equipment in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.Protein PurificationProtein purification is a vital step in drug discovery, therapeutics, biotech and life science research. The purification process typically involves subcellular or membrane protein extraction with cell lysis kits, separation of proteins from cell debris by filtration or spin columns, and the isolation of proteins of interest from other proteins and impurities with affinity purification (including fusion protein tags and antibody binding proteins A, G and L), immunoprecipitation or chromatographic methods, such as ion exchange, size exclusion and immobilized metal affinity chromatography. All purification methods come in multiple formats for your laboratory needs, including agarose or magnetic beads, resins, columns and filter plates. Find the best protein purification equipment in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.Gene Expression and Molecular CloningMolecular cloning is a set of techniques that utilizes vectors to transfer recombinant DNA into host cells and is an essential tool for investigating the expression of genes and proteins in bacterial or mammalian cells. A variety of vectors optimized for gene cloning and expression in a range of host organisms are available, alongside competent cells for genetic replication. Here, you can explore a range of molecular tools, high-quality genomic and cDNA libraries, premade clones, transformation and transfection reagents and mutagenesis or gene expression detection assays and expression arrays. Find the best gene expression and molecular cloning products in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.Clinical TrialsClinical Trials, an essential part of drug discovery process, assess the safety and effectiveness of a new medication or device in the pharmaceutical industry. Clinical Trials are a phased process (Phase 0, Phase I, Phase II, Phase III and Phase IV) which begins after initial preclinical testing.Drug DeliveryDrug Delivery refers to dosage form, route of administration, formulations, technologies, and systems for transporting a pharmaceutical compound in the body as needed to safely achieve its desired therapeutic effect. Drug delivery is often approached via the biopharmaceutical or small molecule drug's formulation, but it may also involve medical devices or drug-device combination products. Considerations include instrumentation, software and services. Scale-upScale-Up is generally defined as the process of transferring the results of the discovery phases of the drug discovery process, obtained on a laboratory scale, to the pilot plant and finally to production scale. Scale-Up uses reactors and pump systems as well as reagents, standards and buffers. Often Scale-Up is provided as a service by Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs). BiopharmaceuticalsBiopharmaceuticals are proteins and other compounds (such as nucleic acids) produced by living organisms that have uses as therapeutics or for in vivo diagnostics. The most well known example of a biopharmaceutical product, and the first to be approved for therapeutic use, was recombinant human insulin.Cell TherapyCell therapy involves using living cells to treat diseases, often by replacing damaged cells or stimulating regeneration. Stem cell therapy and CAR-T cell therapy are examples of cutting-edge treatments in regenerative medicine and cancer immunotherapy. Browse our peer-reviewed product directory to find the best cell therapy tools, compare products, check reviews, and get pricing directly from manufacturers.ReceptorsRegenerative MedicineClinical Trials

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Cobra Biologics and Centre for Process Innovation Announce Collaboration to Advance Development of Regenerative Medicines