iBio, GE partner to work on plant-based production tech
Highlights Inking the deal furthers development and global marketing of the iBioLaunch plant-based vaccine and protein production system. iBio claims its plant-based system greatly reduces capital requirements and shortens timeframes associated with very large scale protein production.
GE will now market iBioLaunch alongside its processing technologies. Robert Erwin, president of iBio, told in-PharmaTechnologist that GE possesses complementary technologies, such as downstream processing equipment, which will be beneficial to users of iBioLaunch.
The agreement covers: product licenses; technology transfer services; design of upstream and downstream processes; supplies of equipment, consumables and related validation support; construction of buildings; facility operations; and consumables.
Erwin said marketing efforts at iBio will also benefit from the reputation and global reach possessed by GE. "We expect this relationship with GE to accelerate and broaden market penetration for our technology”, said Robert Kay, CEO of iBio, in a press statement.
GE will also support further development of iBioLaunch. Erwin said GE and iBio will create joint-business development plans on a case-by-case basis. Details of development will depend on the specific requirements of each project.
The project has an initial term of three-years. Vidadi Yusibov executive director of Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology (CMB), iBio’s development collaborator, expects the deal to continue long after the initial term is finished.
“We have already done considerable planning and work with GE Healthcare to prepare for implementation of this agreement. Therefore, we expect this relationship to start quickly”, said Yusibov.
iBio is in active discussions about licensing iBioLaunch, said Erwin. In March iBio agreed to license the technology to Project GreenVax which intends to show proof-of-concept for large-scale vaccine production using Nicotiana plants.
