Alliance to Produce Therapeutic Plant Proteins

A research agreement to produce a therapeutic protein in transgenic plants and compare its properties with those of the same antibody produced in mammalian cell culture has been announced by the Dow Chemical Company (Midland, MI, USA) and Sunol Molecular Corp. (Miramar, FL, USA).

Under the agreement, Dow will express in plants an anti-tissue factor antibody developed by Sunol for the treatment of multiple types of cancer. The research will specifically examine glycosylation, in vivo testing, and effector function. The project is expected to demonstrate the utility of plant production for injectable biopharmaceuticals. The agreement includes an option for Dow and Dow AgroSciences to evaluate the antibody as a cancer treatment for companion animals.

More than 90% of cancers express tissue factor, which facilitates tumor growth and metastasis. This makes cancer an attractive target for anti-tissue antibodies. Sunol's anti-tissue factor antibody inhibits activities attributed to tissue factor and also provides a cytolytic effect to help destroy the target cancer cells.

"Determining bioequivalence through in vivo comparison will be necessary to validate this emerging technology,” said Dr. Hing Wong, CEO of Sunol. "We are excited about combining expertise and proprietary technologies from Sunol in tissue factor antagonists and from Dow in transgenic plant production to accomplish this important step.”




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