Novozymes Biopharma expands its partnership with research group, Upperton Limited, to offer a new albumin conjugation solution
Novozymes Biopharma, part of Novozymes, has expanded its partnership with Nottingham-based research and development company, Upperton Limited, to offer customers a new albumin conjugation solution.
By linking drugs to Novozymes' new Recombumin Flex recombinant human albumin (rAlbumin), using conjugation, the company claims their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties can be dramatically enhanced.
As a result, manufacturers could benefit from the ability to tailor and control the half-life of drugs to fit patients' medical needs.
Dave Mead, business development director at Novozymes Biopharma, said: 'Novozymes has enjoyed a successful relationship with Upperton over the past 10 years and its expertise and experience in the conjugation of proteins, combined with our experience of protein engineering and production, will help customers to design drugs with tailored serum half-life and fewer side-effects.' By manipulating the interaction of albumin with its receptor, the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn), Novozymes can produce modified albumins that bind with greater or lesser affinities, meaning a flexible half-life.
Increasing the serum half-life of a drug may reduce the frequency of injections a patient receives or even reduce the amount of drug delivered, thereby significantly reducing toxic side-effects and increasing patient acceptance.
