CytoGenix expands DNA manufacturing
ground on a new $3.8m facility to expand the company's
manufacturing capability of synthetic DNA.
The new 20,000 sq ft. facility will be located in Houston's Westchase District, and will contain approximately 8,000 sq ft. of state-of-the-art, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) qualified clean-room space for the production of clinical-grade synDNA, the company's proprietary synthesized DNA. "This facility will provide the company the space needed to expand both our research and development and our DNA production. The additional capacity will enable more rapid progress in moving our own products to clinical trials as well as increasing our output of DNA products to our customers," CytoGenix chief executive Malcolm Skolnick said in a statement. The facility will house several production suites which will have the capacity to produce 50 grams of high purity DNA daily. The DNA would be used for CytoGenix's influenza vaccines and Simplivir, an antiviral product against herpes simplex virus as well as supplying other pharmaceutical companies with DNA. The company believed the new facility would secure CytoGenix' place in the "highly competitive DNA production market" CytoGenix chief scientific officer Dr Yin Chen said: "This new facility will enable us to recruit additional highly qualified scientists and professionals needed in both our drug development and DNA production activities. The company will move to expedite its certification process to achieve Good Manufacturing Practice status necessary to manufacture clinical grade DNA." Beside the synDNA, CytoGenix also has a single stranded DNA expression technology. Initial plans for the development, which will also house offices, were first announced in November last year. CytoGenix was unavailable to comment at time of publishing.
