Ventria Bioscience Technology
Ventria’s recombinant protein manufacturing technology is called ExpressTec. It is a safe, affordable and sustainable manufacturing technology that achieves recombinant protein yield that is many times higher than alternative systems. This advantage means Ventria’s products are accessible to a global customer base.
ExpressTec uses self-pollinating plants such as rice and barley as the production host. The recombinant protein or peptide is deposited in the seed during plant maturation. The seed is then harvested and stored until utilized as the raw material for further processing. In Ventria’s dedicated and completely animal component free manufacturing facility, the recombinant protein or peptide is extracted from the seed and purified to make the final product.
The ExpressTec system has several advantages:
- Safe: Completely animal free and dedicated manufacturing. This avoids viral and TSE/BSE transmission risks that are associated with the use of animal components or blood products in manufacturing recombinant proteins. Also, Ventria utilizes rice and barley to make the raw material. These plants are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And, both rice and barley are self-pollinating, which means they do not require wind or insect pollination for reproduction. In addition, the recombinant protein or peptide is only deposited in the seed during maturation. The seed is never sold. Ventria maintains custody of all plant materials throughout manufacturing and into the final product.
- Supply Security and Business Continuity Planning: Security of supply is improved with ExpressTec because the seed can be stored under controlled conditions and quality of the recombinant protein or peptide is maintained in the seed for up to three years. As demand requires, the seed can be processed to manufacture the final product. Maintaining sufficient inventory of the product as seed significantly reduces risk of product supply interruption.
- Affordable: Economically advantaged recombinant protein yields as high as 15 grams per kilogram of seed weight and up to 50% of total soluble protein have been achieved with ExpressTec. In addition, since the raw material can be stored for multiple years, it provides a steady availability of raw material so the extraction and purification processes can operate continually, improving facility utilization compared to other systems.
- Broad Scope: ExpressTec has proven its ability to produce large proteins (greater than 50 kilodaltons), small peptides (less than 10 kilodaltons), multiple sub-unit molecules, monoclonal antibodies, membrane proteins, fusion proteins and enzymes.
- Sustainable: ExpressTec harnesses solar energy and carbon dioxide to manufacture the recombinant protein or peptide in the plant. The by-product of this process is oxygen. The plants are renewable and can replicate more than 50 times in one generation and multiple generations can be achieved per year. The extraction and purification process utilizes a water-based extraction method and standard purification processes that are utilized extensively by the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Ventria has invested significant resources in its ExpressTec technology and has patented many of its discoveries. Through direct patent prosecution and licensing, Ventria has exclusive rights to more than 25 issued patents and is actively prosecuting an additional 21 patent applications. The Company has non-exclusive access to 15 patents under licensing arrangements. Together, these patents provide freedom to operate as well as a leading position in the manufacturing technology, the products and their uses in each of the targeted business areas.