Reducing the prohibitive costs of protein production for therapeutic development

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PhylloTech, Inc. is redefining the production of proteins and antibodies by eliminating the need for expensive manufacturing, purification, and downstream processing steps. The company has developed a contrarian method to produce proteins and antibodies in plants by engineering tobacco leaf structures, called glandular secreting trichomes, to manufacture, purify, and deliver target proteins directly to leaf surfaces of living plants for easy and economical harvests. The proteins can then be packaged and sold directly to the end user or sent to fill/finish operations. The value proposition is that high amounts of purified proteins can be generated at low cost in a renewable, environmentally friendly manner. We call this expression system OnLeafEX, and with this system, PhylloTech can eliminate the prohibitive costs that are forestalling the future generation of protein-based therapeutics. We are pursuing the cytokine research use only market segment as an immediate opportunity because of their restrictively high costs, high demand, and overseas sourcing. The specific aims of the project are: Specific Aim 1 – Genetic sequences encoding twenty-five cytokines will be designed and codon-optimized for N. tabacum, and placed into proprietary plant vectors. Specific Aim 2 - Stable plant transformants will be generated with standard protocols of Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation. Specific Aim 3 - Propagated plants will then be transferred to sterile soil and grown in our indoor plant growth facility, and plant-made cytokines will be harvested. Specific Aim 4 – Harvested plant-made cytokines will be internally validated and analyzed. Specific Aim 5 – Plant-made cytokines will be externally validated for activity and further developed for commercialization. The aim of this work is to use a novel manufacturing technology discovered in plants to dramatically increase patient’s accessibility to therapeutics by lowering their costs, and with OnLeafEX, the company is in an ideal position to maximize this business opportunity. Research and development costs associated with cytokines and other research tools could be drastically reduced, potentially allowing for faster adoption of therapeutics. The technology will also lower the COGS for partner companies, providing larger margins and ultimately more financial stability to organizations that can pass the savings onto patients, resulting in lower retail prices for therapeutics.