Wheeler Bio Enhances Services with ATUM's miFuc™ Technology
Wheeler Bio, Inc., a progressive contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has announced a significant enhancement to its service offerings. The company has entered into a licensing agreement with ATUM to utilize the innovative miFuc™ platform. This cutting-edge technology focuses on expressing recombinant proteins that contain afucosylated glycans, thus significantly enhancing the capabilities of Wheeler Bio's Portable CMC® platform.
Understanding miFuc™ Technology
ATUM's miFuc™ technology has set a high standard in the industry, enabling the development of antibodies with notably reduced fucosylation. This advancement ensures that essential factors like product titer, cellular growth rates, and overall glycan liabilities remain stable. By integrating ATUM's proprietary Leap-In Transposase technology, antibodies created with miFuc™ expression vectors show remarkable improvements in antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). This improvement translates to better effectiveness for specific therapies, optimizing their overall performance.
Benefits of the Licensing Agreement
This strategic licensing agreement empowers Wheeler Bio's clients, allowing them to produce therapeutic antibodies with improved effector engagement and enhanced ADCC. These advancements help create wider therapeutic windows while reducing toxicity risks, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes.
Incorporation of Advanced Technologies
Wheeler Bio has a proven record of integrating cutting-edge technologies provided by ATUM. This includes the VectorGPS design platform and the miCHO™ host cell line, seamlessly incorporating them into their Portable CMC® process platform. These integrations provide a reliable, predictable, and scalable method for swiftly moving antibodies from discovery to clinical manufacturing. The recent licensing agreement further enhances Wheeler Bio's antibody platform capabilities, enabling the production of afucosylated antibodies and a diverse range of recombinant proteins to meet various therapeutic needs.
Focus on Integrated CMC Development
The company is committed to delivering comprehensive CMC development and CGMP clinical supply solutions to biotech firms focused on creating antibody therapeutics. Through their open-source antibody platform, the Portable CMC®, Wheeler Bio ensures that emerging biotech companies can access top-tier development and manufacturing services, effectively guiding them from initial discovery to early-phase clinical trials.
Streamlining the Development Workflow
A standout feature of ATUM’s Leap-In Transposases technology is its capacity to enhance a robust cell line development workflow. This process involves generating and engineering cell lines that yield productive pools and clones while consistently maintaining product titer and quality. By combining ATUM’s sophisticated protein expression tools with Wheeler Bio’s Portable CMC® platform, the overall process becomes streamlined and efficient. This significantly elevates the path of discovery compounds as they navigate from lead candidate selection to clinical manufacturing.
Jesse McCool, the CEO and co-founder of Wheeler Bio, shared his excitement about this collaboration, stating, "We’re thrilled to team up with ATUM again, blending our technologies. With ATUM’s miFuc™ integrated into our Portable CMC® platform, our clients will have greater flexibility in pharmaceutical development while reducing risks associated with timeline, manufacturability, and scale-up."
Oren Beske, ATUM's Amalgamator of Business and Biology, added, "Working with Wheeler Bio has allowed us to present our innovative platforms to the biotech community in a distinctive way. Their Portable CMC® approach aligns perfectly with our mission to democratize platform technologies, fostering efficient and cost-effective therapeutic development for patients in need."
Commitment to Transformative Biologics Development
Both ATUM and Wheeler Bio share a strong commitment to a forward-thinking approach in biologics development. Their joint objective goes beyond traditional methods, placing innovation at the forefront to accelerate the potential of new investigational drugs. The ultimate goal of this collaboration is to address unmet medical needs while enhancing patient outcomes, thereby making a notable difference in the healthcare arena.
About Wheeler Bio
Wheeler Bio is recognized as a pioneer in the biomanufacturing sector, brought to life by a team of industry experts who are rethinking the CDMO model to expedite clinical milestones for innovators. Their unique hub-and-spoke operational framework, strategically situated in Oklahoma City, collaborates with biotech firms and discovery CROs to transform drug development timelines. The Portable CMC® technology provides a streamlined pathway from drug discovery to clinical manufacturing, enhancing the potential for swift transitions to first-in-human trials. Innovators who partner with Wheeler Bio can anticipate a faster technology transfer, leading to shorter timelines, reduced risks, and overall cost savings.
About ATUM
ATUM has positioned itself as a leader in the biotechnology field, offering a wide range of services such as Gene Design, Gene Synthesis, Protein Engineering, and Cell Line Development. With a strong focus on innovation, ATUM has consistently provided high-quality solutions to life science researchers for over twenty years. By utilizing advanced machine learning platforms and proprietary algorithms, ATUM has developed efficient pathways from virtual sequencing to manufacturing-ready master cell banking, effectively supporting the entire biotech ecosystem from pre-clinical research to FDA IND submissions and beyond.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the significance of the miFuc™ technology?
The miFuc™ technology enhances the production of therapeutic antibodies by decreasing fucosylation, which boosts efficacy without compromising growth rates or product yields.
2. How does this partnership benefit Wheeler Bio?
This partnership gives Wheeler Bio access to advanced technologies, enabling them to provide clients with more options and flexibility in antibody development.
3. What does the Portable CMC® platform aim to achieve?
The Portable CMC® platform is designed to streamline the transition from drug discovery to clinical manufacturing, thereby speeding up the drug development process.
4. Who is Wheeler Bio partnering with?
Wheeler Bio is partnering with ATUM, utilizing their innovative technologies to expand their capabilities in antibody development and production.
5. How does ATUM support the biotech research community?
ATUM offers a variety of high-quality services, including protein production and cell line development, which assist researchers in speeding up their therapeutic discoveries.
