Aldevron to Provide New GMP Cas9 Nuclease Through Agreement with Integrated DNA Technologies
Aldevron, a provider of contract plasmid DNA manufacturing, protein production and antibody discovery services, and Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc. (IDT), a supplier of custom nucleic acid and genome editing products, today announced a license agreement whereby Aldevron will manufacture and distribute a S. pyogenes Cas9 variant—known as SpyFi™ Cas9 Nuclease—which is patented by IDT. The product will be manufactured for research, clinical, and commercial use.
“IDT continues to be an innovator for the biotechnology industry. We are excited to expand our partnership,” said Michael Chambers, Aldevron CEO. “This license will accelerate gene editing programs and help bring transformative treatments to patients. Aldevron’s 20 years of experience manufacturing biological material will allow us to provide our clients with SpyFi Cas9 Nuclease for use in research studies, clinical trials, and commercial applications.”
Mark Behlke, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at IDT, added, “A significant amount of development effort went into making a S. pyogenes HiFi Cas9 mutant that worked in ribonucleoprotein formats, compatible with use in ex-vivo clinical protocols. We are excited to expand our collaboration with Aldevron to make available a full GMP version of this novel protein and to better serve the biomedical community, in addition to our traditional research markets.”
An advisory panel at the National Institutes of Health recently approved the first clinical trial using CRISPR-Cas9, which is planned to start by the end of the year. The project uses gene editing to augment cancer therapy by modifying a patient’s T cells. The technique has the potential to become a significant treatment in a wide variety of diseases.
Aldevron will have research grade SpyFi Cas9 Nuclease available for shipment in December 2017. The company anticipates clinical grade SpyFi Cas9 nuclease to be available in Q4 2018.
Image: Michael Chambers, Aldevron CEO (Photo: Aldevron)