BRAIN and PS Biotech announce cooperation
B.R.A.I.N. biotechnology Research and Information Network AG and the startup PS Biotech from Aachen cooperate in the field of the optimization of biotechnological production processes. Within the context of the strategic alliance NatLifE 2020 which started into the second funding period and is co-financed by BMBF PS Biotech is working together with BRAIN on optimization of substrate release in miniaturized bio-fermentation processes.
Founded in 2013 as a Spin-off from RWTH Aachen the company PS Biotech is specialized in the development of polymer-based release systems for realization of fed-batch feeding in small scale cultures. Within the second funding period of the NatLife 2020 alliance which started in March 2016 BRAIN will develop safe and robust microbial expression systems which in the next years will be used for production of proteins, peptides or natural substances for the food and cosmetics industry.
Within the scope of the project, PS Biotech will develop individually tailored release systems for optimized feeding of microorganisms which will enable an early selection of the best production strains under near process conditions. “Using this technology the time scale from development to production will be reduced significantly”, Sebastian Selzer from PS Biotech says. “Additionally by using the polymer-based technology the development process will become more robust and resources will be used efficiently.”
The in the jointly developed process used microbial expression systems are very diverse and comprise amongst others the yeast Pichia pastoris that is frequently used for production of proteins and peptides. The two companies are currently developing a glycerol-releasing polymer system in a microplate specifically adapted to the cultivation of Pichia pastoris.
“By using the polymer-based release systems in screening as well as in process development we expect time savings of 30% compared to the classical process development procedure”, states Dr. Christian Naumer, platform coordinator for bioprocess development at BRAIN. “Furthermore working in the process near microplates enables analysis of large numbers of samples in parallel and in this way promotes identification of the best strain already in an early stage of the process. Another advantage, which has to be pointed out, is the good transferability of results obtained in the screening to larger scales. This leads to a simplified scale up in our plants.”
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