Producing Biotech Drugs Faster and Cheaper in the Eggs of Transgenic Hens
Viragen and Scotland's Roslin Institute Announce Extended Agreement
Plantation, Fla. - Viragen, Inc. announced that the Company has extended its agreement with Scotland's Roslin Institute to develop Avian Transgenic Technology. The agreement, extended by two years, continues to provide Viragen with the worldwide exclusive rights to commercialize avian transgenic biomanufacturing technology, believed to be capable of producing therapeutic protein-based drugs on a large scale with advantages that include lower costs, increased efficiency and quality of product.
"We are pleased to continue this important partnership with Scotland's Roslin Institute," stated Viragen's President and CEO, Mr. Robert C. Salisbury. "This is a high-priority project and we are encouraged by research results that suggest that Project Leader, Dr. Helen Sang, and the research teams at the Roslin Institute and Viragen Scotland are on a pathway to achieve the necessary scientific milestones that could establish Viragen and Roslin as leaders in this field."
Roslin Institute's Deputy Director, Dr. Harry Griffin, applauded the aim of the project. "The potential merits of this technology are many, but the patient would be the ultimate beneficiary. These specially developed transgenic hens should be able to produce many kinds of protein drugs in their eggs which could be used to fight a wide range of diseases. Working with Viragen, we look forward to developing an effective manufacturing platform designed to provide patients with faster access to new drugs."
Viragen holds the worldwide exclusive license to commercialize Avian Transgenic Technology as granted by Roslin Institute. This project is designed to substitute chicken eggs for expensive bioreactor vessels presently used in the manufacture of protein-based drugs. Upon the successful completion of this project, flocks of specially produced transgenic chickens would lay virtually unlimited numbers of eggs which would have significant amounts of the target drug in the egg whites. The proportion of protein drugs, including monoclonal antibodies, under development is forecast to be expanding rapidly and manufacturing constraints, including lack of adequate facilities, have been recognized.
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