Oxford Genetics receives grant to create virus packaging cell lines
Grant will be used to tackle one of the biggest bioproduction problems currently facing the industry
A leading UK-based biotechnology company has been awarded a grant to develop packaging cell lines for virus bioproduction.
Oxford Genetics, which develops DNA systems and bioproduction solutions, will work in collaboration with the University of Oxford to generate cell lines for the scalable manufacture of retrovirus and lentivirus vectors.
The $1 million program will see the provider of synthetic biology solutions use its newly acquired facilities at the Oxford Science Park to extend its product and service offering into the virus manufacturing space.
Oxford Genetics CEO and founder. Dr Ryan Cawood, said: “Gene therapy is a personal passion of mine, it has huge potential, and is the reason I got into biology. This grant enables us to tackle one of the biggest bioproduction problems currently facing the industry; the challenge is similar to that faced by the antibody industry in the early 1990s and we hope our innovations will translate into lower cost of goods for patients and improved medicines for a wide range of serious conditions.”
Commenting on the grant, Leonard Seymour, Professor for Gene Therapy and founder of the British Society for Gene Therapy, said: “I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Oxford Genetics team for just over 5 years, having been involved since the business was formed.
“This grant will help us work even more closely together, and allow our two teams of scientists to foster new research ideas to solve the challenges of making viruses in large quantities. This is really an exciting opportunity for my research group and we are pleased to be a part of this innovative research program.”
The program will span 12 months and follows the recent announcements from Oxford Genetics that is has expanded its board to include several industry experts, acquired new state-of-the-art cell line development facilities, and received £2 million investment from Mercia Technologies. The business is now seeking early access partners working with therapeutic virus systems to allow scale-up validation of the systems it is developing.
Related News
-
News Patients vs Pharma – who will the Inflation Reduction Act affect the most?
The Inflation Reduction Act brought in by the Biden administration in 2022 aims to give better and more equitable access to healthcare in the USA. However, pharma companies are now concerned about the other potential costs of such legislation. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: What does the changing US Pharma market mean for industry and patients alike?
In this week's episode of the CPHI Podcast Series Lucy Chard, Digital Editor for CPHI Online is joined by James Manser to discuss the political and market changes in the US pharma field. -
News CPHI Barcelona Annual Report illuminates industry trends for 2024
The CPHI Annual Survey comes into it’s 7th year to report on the predicted trends for 2024. Over 250 pharma executives were asked 35 questions, with their answers informing the industry landscape for the next year, spanning all major pharma marke... -
News Which 10 drugs are open to price negotiation with Medicare in the USA?
The Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services, under the Biden administration in the USA, has released a list of the 10 drugs that will be open to price negotiations as part of the new legislation under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). -
News EU Medical Devices Regulation causes unintended disappearances of medical devices for children, doctors state
Doctor groups and associations have appealed to the EU to correct the EU Medical Devices Regulation law that may cause unintended shortages of essential drug and medical devices for children and rare disease patients. -
News 10 Major Drug Approvals So Far in 2023
Last year, 37 novel drugs were approved by the FDA, this was a high number for such a category, and covered many fields including oncology, demonstrating how promising further research is, and how it is only continuing to build. To date, there are alre... -
News Detecting Alzheimer's disease with a simple lateral flow test
A novel rapid diagnostic test for early-stage Alzheimer's disease has been developed using a biomarker binder from Aptamer Group along with technology from Neuro-Bio, the neurodegenerative disease experts. -
News CPHI Podcast Series: outsourcing and manufacturing trends
Listen to the CPHI Podcast Series this June to hear Gil Roth of the PBOA speak with Digital Editor Lucy Chard about the biggest trends and topics to watch in pharma outsourcing and manufacturing at the minute.
Position your company at the heart of the global Pharma industry with a CPHI Online membership
-
Your products and solutions visible to thousands of visitors within the largest Pharma marketplace
-
Generate high-quality, engaged leads for your business, all year round
-
Promote your business as the industry’s thought-leader by hosting your reports, brochures and videos within your profile
-
Your company’s profile boosted at all participating CPHI events
-
An easy-to-use platform with a detailed dashboard showing your leads and performance