Pfenex obtains malaria production process sub contract

San Diego-based Pfenex Inc., which is a biotechnology company, declared that the company has received a sub contract for developing scalable and robust current good manufacturing practices. This would be concerned with the ready production process involved in the large-scale production of a blood-stage malaria antigen.

The company has received this subcontract from Leidos Holdings, Inc., for the reticulocyte-binding homologue V production process of Plasmodium falciparum, a malarial antigen. The collaborators of Leidos had performed successful pre-clinical studies that aimed at analyzing the Rh5 antigen produced. During this process they used Expression Technology platform developed by Pfenex. The successful performance during the pre-clinical studies has led to this sub- contract beinf bagged by Pfenex.

For funding this sub-contract, federal funds were used with Leidos contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The company will soon begin the activities for the developmental process and provide materials for the ongoing pre-clinical studies to the NIAID and Leidos. The company announced that they are pleased to have received this sub-contract and would aim at developing an effective therapy for malaria. They are proud the Pfenex Expression Technology has confirmed its capability to produce efficient high value, complex protein with the potential of a multivalent malaria vaccine. They wish to discover new boundaries and contribute to the world health effectively.