Seminars

　Transient expression technologies such as magnICON® developed by Icon Genetics are new generation processes for biopharmaceutical and biomaterial production that are simple and indefinitely scalable protocols for heterologous protein expression in plants, which are devoid of stable genetic transformation of a plant, but instead rely on transient amplification of viral vectors delivered to multiple areas of a plant body (systemic delivery) by Agrobacterium. These eclectic technologies effectively address most of the major shortcomings of earlier plant-based technologies such as low speed of manufacturing, low expression levels, lack of versatility and high manufacturing cost. The technologies have been brought to the GMP-compliant level and are currently being used to manufacture materials for clinical trials by Icon Genetics, Nomad Bioscience, KBP, Fraunhofer USA, IBio, Mapp Biopharmaceuticals and others. Current Ebola virus outbreak and apparently successful use of ZMapp antibody cocktail manufactured using magnICON® technology and tested on several patients demonstrate the power of transient technologies.
　Transient technologies are also applicable for generating novel agronomic traits and biomaterials. The core process in development today at Nomad Bioscience is a technology that allows to rapidly temporarily re-program metabolism of green plants using agrobacteria sprays, thus generating valuable traits and bio-based materials. Because of its speed and versatility, the agrospray technology has a potential to become a disruptive new process that will redefine agriculture business as we know it.

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