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Associated Press
07-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Bionova Scientific Licenses ATUM's Proprietary Transposon-Based Gene Delivery Technology to Accelerate & De-Risk Cell Line Development
FREMONT, Calif., May 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Bionova Scientific, an Asahi Kasei boutique commercial-scale biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), today announced it has licensed ATUM's proprietary Leap-In Transposase® transposon-based gene delivery and its miCHO™ cell line development technologies. ATUM's Leap-In Transposase technology can achieve high levels of gene integration, resulting in a large number of cells with the desired gene insertion, precise integration as a single copy into the host cell's genome, and integration into multiple locations within the genome, reducing the risk of gene silencing or other adverse effects. When used in a cell line development program, Leap-In Transposase technology delivers productive, stable, and robust cell lines, including at the stable pool stage. Bionova possesses extensive expertise across the biologics lifecycle. By combining Bionova's cell line development toolbox with ATUM's Leap-In Transposase®, innovators will have access to highly productive stable pools and clones. Coupled with Bionova's track record of finding solutions for complex technical challenges and exceeding expectations, customers can anticipate increased facility output and stable production that will facilitate further innovations in the field. These capabilities are particularly important to clients at the later stages of discovery, and can help them quickly proceed through cell line development with robust chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC). 'Momentum is often lost between the discovery and development phases of monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutic proteins, creating major challenges for emerging companies while introducing financial, technical, and regulatory risks,' said Douglas Mogensen, Vice President, Business Development at Bionova Scientific. 'By leveraging cutting-edge technologies like ATUM's transposon-based gene delivery platform and cell line technologies, Bionova is able to make standardized manufacturing platforms more accessible to its clients, minimizing risks and sustaining progress through what is commonly known as 'the valley of death' for programs transitioning from discovery to development.' 'Leap-In technology provides a gene delivery system with a greater frequency of gene integration, resulting in a step-change improvement in clonal hit rates with high productivity. This eliminates much of the trial-and-error work of earlier methods and greatly streamlines our cell line development and screening workflows,' said Joyce Lee, Director of Cell Line Development at Bionova. 'As a result, we can now shorten timelines for individual client projects, while also handling several more projects simultaneously.' About ATUM ATUM offers an integrated pipeline of tools including gene design, optimization and synthesis, expression vectors, and platforms for protein and cellular engineering and production. The company exploits the dependence of biological activity on well-designed sequences. ATUM's tools and solutions are fueling the transformation of biology from a discovery science to an engineering discipline. By collaborating with our clients, ATUM accelerates breakthroughs and moves research further faster. For more information please visit: . About Bionova Scientific Bionova Scientific partners with innovators in the biologic industry to bring life-changing therapies to market. Founded in 2014 and acquired by Asahi Kasei Group in 2022, Bionova Scientific offers customers access to superior tools and technologies and an unwavering commitment to quality delivered with scientific excellence across the entire lifecycle. Bionova offers integrated CDMO services that span cell line development, process development to commercial cGMP manufacturing of complex proteins and antibodies. Our experienced scientists bring proven expertise to overcoming discovery to first-in-human development challenges and scale-up. Bionova is a flexible and collaborative partner that has worked with leading biotechnology innovators from its new state-of-the-art facility in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, visit . About Asahi Kasei The Asahi Kasei Group contributes to life and living for people around the world. Since its foundation in 1922 with ammonia and cellulose fiber businesses, Asahi Kasei has consistently grown through the proactive transformation of its business portfolio to meet the evolving needs of every age. With more than 48,000 employees worldwide, the company contributes to a sustainable society by providing solutions to the world's challenges through its three business sectors of Material, Homes, and Health Care. Its health care operations include devices and systems for acute critical care, dialysis, therapeutic apheresis, and manufacture of biotherapeutics, as well as pharmaceuticals and diagnostic reagents. For more information, visit and . Media Contacts: Jesse McCool, Ph.D., CSO, Bionova Scientific t: +1 (405)279-6767 e: [email protected] Chris Halling, Director of Communications, Orientation Marketing t: +44 (0)7580 041073 e: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Bionova Scientific
Business Journals
24-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Bionova Scientific commits to more Woodlands buildings, hiring
The Fremont, California-based contract development and manufacturing organization is planning another facility north of Houston. Story Highlights Bionova Scientific is planning a second, 100,000-square-foot facility in The Woodlands by 2026. The first building, which took six months of construction, is nearly ready for its ribbon-cutting. Company expects to hire 200 workers for plasmid DNA manufacturing. Bionova Scientific is gearing up for a major expansion in The Woodlands as its first Houston-area facility approaches full capacity this summer. Bionova Chief Scientific Officer Jesse McCool said the Fremont, California-based contract development and manufacturing organization, or CDMO, is planning a second, 100,000-square-foot building at 2600 Research Forest Drive, which is set to be complete in 2026. The company also plans to hire 200 workers, a significant jump from previously reported figures. Bionova's first facility is in an existing building in The Woodlands' rapidly growing life sciences ecosystem, but McCool confirmed the second would be built from the ground up. Chicago-based Perkins&Will is the design firm for the second project, and $5 million in 'detailed engineering work' has already been completed. 'Our first facility covers all the [plasmid DNA] manufacturing services we offer, but only up to a certain scale; it covers pre-clinical and early clinical orders,' McCool told the Houston Business Journal in an exclusive interview. 'We have a path to scalability; we have a line of sight to the larger facility, which is going to be right next door.' The company plans to manufacture all three grades of plasmid DNA: research, high quality and Good Manufacturing Practice grade. The DNA can be used in various cell and gene therapy applications depending on the grade. Bionova has already opened some phases of the first building at 2635 Technology Forest Drive ahead of a planned ribbon-cutting in May. The company expects to receive final approval of its GMP manufacturing space in July. The Woodlands-based Aventus Development led the first project, which took six months of construction, according to McCool. The other major expansion target for Bionova in Houston is a 200-person biopharma workforce. McCool said that the first building will have capacity for around 55 workers; the remainder would go into the second building. Of that workforce, McCool estimates around 60% wouldn't need four-year degrees. "That makes this type of business attractive to communities because it helps prop up a part of the community that doesn't have access to higher-paying jobs," he said. The planned expansion would be a significant step up from what Bionova previously disclosed in tax abatement applications to Montgomery County and The Woodlands. In its February 2024 application for Montgomery County tax abatements, Bionova said it planned to invest $100 million into the initial facility, with $56.1 million allotted for construction. Another $45.8 million would go into 'fixed personal property,' or property that is attached in a way that makes it essential to the building's use. The improvements were expected to take the value of the Research Forest Drive property from $2.4 million to $78.5 million. The abatement application also said Bionova had been considering North Carolina's Research Triangle Park, a hotbed of its own for pharmaceutical manufacturing. But McCool highlighted Houston-specific advantages in The Woodlands and the Texas Medical Center as factors that drew the company to Texas. 'It's a very intentional choice of doing (this) in The Woodlands because you're right across the street from Cellipont Bioservices and right up the street from the Texas Medical Center, where you have all these startups coming out of incubation, raising capital,' he said. McCool also highlighted the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the state grant program that has given $3.8 billion to bring researchers and companies to Texas. Grantees often turn to CDMOs like Bionova to help them carry out their research. But he also added he'd like to see the CPRIT rules directly require manufacturing to take place in the Lone Star State. Bionova is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Asahi Kahei Medical, which McCool said has a 'long-term' vision for biopharma. 'There's a $25 billion company backing this new company in Texas, and that's a really good thing,' McCool said. 'They're investing in the U.S., in the manufacturing infrastructure that we need to support." The San Francisco Business Times, an HBJ sister publication, reported in January that Bionova had completed its move into a new 55,000-square-foot space in California, doubling its employment in that area. Sign up here for the Houston Business Journal's free morning and afternoon daily newsletters to receive the latest business news impacting Greater Houston.
