DuPont bags grant for biologic medications

This might not be targeting industrial applications but then the use of biotechnology has constantly been crossing over between pharma/life science, industrial chemicals, biofuels, and consumer/nutritional products.

DuPont Industrial Biosciences recently announced receipt of a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support a new area of research. The research project, which commences immediately, aims to create new production systems to enable affordable, protein-based biologic medications, such as antibodies. DuPont aims to apply its world-class capabilities in the areas of protein engineering, pathway engineering and cell factories to the field of protein drugs.

DuPont Industrial Biosciences claims to be a world leader in the manufacture and scale up of industrial proteins. When applied to pharmaceutical protein production, this approach has the potential to enable rapid scale-up and lower costs at high volumes, making protein drugs such as monoclonal antibodies potentially suitable for infectious diseases, effectively managing outbreaks and providing affordable supply to people around the world.

This reminds me of Amyris’s development of artemisinin, which also started via a grant from the Gates Foundation. Speaking of Amyris, the company has been churning lots of interesting press releases lately.