BAC has extended its license agreement with LFB Biotechnologies to cover the use of the anti-factor VIIa Captureselect affinity ligand in the large-scale purification of recombinant human factor VIIa.
LFB Biotechnologies began working with BAC in May 2008 to develop a custom-designed affinity ligand for the purification of the rhFVIIa product that it developed in partnership with GTC Biotherapeutics.
BAC and LFB Biotechnologies have now entered into a licence agreement to use the custom ligand in larger-scale production processes.
Under the terms of the agreement, LFB Biotechnologies will have license to use BAC's anti-FVIIa Captureselect ligand for the purification of rhFVIIa from transgenic animals expressing the recombinant protein during lactation.
The Captureselect ligand has demonstrated the ability to achieve high purity in downstream, processing, and has the potential to enhance the cost reduction benefits of the transgenic expression system developed by LFB Biotechnologies and GTC Biotherapeutics.
Factor VIIa is an essential protein for certain blood coagulation disorders.
Recombinant FVIIa is used to treat and prevent bleeding episodes in haemophilia A and B patients with inhibitors to factor VIII or Factor IX, and in patients with acquired haemophilia.
It is also increasingly being used to treat uncontrollable haemorrhages.
BAC's Captureselect ligand technology uses a type of antibody fragment to create a highly specific affinity ligand for the single-step purification of any target protein.
BAC has partnered with GE Healthcare to provide the anti-FVIIa ligand as a resin suitable for commercial-scale bioprocessing.
LFB Biotechnologies will have full access to GE Healthcare's experience and support in fulfilling regulatory requirements during scale-up and ongoing production.
