Open Biosystems Acquires Exclusive License To Tranzyme Pharma's Proprietary Trans-Lentiviral Vector Technology
Industry Access to Products and Services based on Trans-Lentiviral Technology
Washington DC - Open Biosystems, Inc., focused on the commercialization of leading-edge life science research tools for drug discovery, announced that the Company has obtained an exclusive license to patented human-based trans-lentiviral gene expression technology owned by Tranzyme Pharma. Under the terms of the agreement, Open Biosystems gains exclusive rights to develop and commercialize products based on Tranzyme's technology. In addition, the Company will assume Tranzyme's operations located in Birmingham, Alabama, where Open Biosystems will continue to expand the development and production of lentiviral based products. In return, Tranzyme will receive minimum annual payments and royalties on sales of products and services resulting from the application of Tranzyme's technology. Further financial details were not disclosed.
Human-based lentiviral vectors provide researchers and scientists with superior flexibility and capabilities for high-quality gene delivery and target validation. Previously, researchers have been unable to transduce non-dividing cell types, neurons, macrophages, and other primary tissue types crucial for studying genes as targets against novel therapeutics. The agreement enables Open Biosystems to provide access to proprietary research reagents and services based on lentiviral vectors.
"Open Biosystems is committed to providing the biopharmaceutical industry with leading edge technologies that address critical bottlenecks in gene-based drug discovery," said Troy Moore, Chief Technical Officer for Open Biosystems. "Lentivectors are historically complex and difficult to create, limiting use in pharmaceutical research. With Tranzyme's technology, Open Biosystems will enable customers to more readily use lentiviral systems on a large scale, opening a new realm of possibility for drug discovery."
"This human-based lentiviral system has been shown to express its transgene two to five times higher in human cell lines than competing equine infectious anemia virus-based lentiviral systems," said Brian Pollock, President and CEO for Open Biosystems. "Tranzyme's lentivirus intellectual property portfolio further solidifies Open Biosystems' leadership in RNA interference, and greatly expands the range of products and services being offered to our customers. With our extensive collection of constructs for performing RNAi and Tranzyme's technology, Open Biosystems now offers a range of RNAi products previously unavailable to the research community."
"The applications for lentiviral vectors crosses multiple therapeutic areas but particularly opens a new realm of possibility for neuroscience research as neurons of the central nervous system are not amenable to many gene delivery platforms," added Mr. Moore.
"Tranzyme has proven the potential of this technology through its previous collaborations, and is excited to be a part of this business opportunity with Open Biosystems," said Vipin K. Garg, Ph.D., President and CEO for Tranzyme Pharma. "Tranzyme is confident that Open Biosystems is the right partner to make the trans-lentiviral technology commercially viable for the biologic reagents market."
SOURCE: Open Biosystems, Inc.