The technology in question, CaptureSelect, uses camelid-derived single domain antibody fragments to produce affinity ligands capable of capturing specific proteins during biomanufacturing.
BAC claims the ligands offer increased stability and broad antigen-specific binding compared to traditional affinity purification methods.
Under the new agreement, Lachen-headquartered Octapharma will use a CaptureSelect affinity ligand it developed in collaboration with BAC to purify recombinant human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF).
Octapharm, which intends to make G-CSF for oncology applications, has already used BAC’s platform to develop purification processes for the production of its recombinant factor IX drug and for its candidate factor VIII.
In a press statement Laurens Sierkstra, BAC CEO, said the deal “confirms the reliability of the CaptureSelect platform to consistently produce highly specific affinity ligands for the purification of any protein.”
And while this is the standard comment when any technology firm agrees a new license, in this case it is supported by CaptureSelect’s track-record of winning BAC repeat business.
In April, for example, France’s LFB Biotechnologies licensed a new affinity ligand for the large scale production of Factor VIIa (rhFVIIa), expanding on the deal it signed in 2008.
And, prior to that in February, GE Healthcare also expanded its deal with BAC, licensing an affinity resin for the purification of alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) from blood plasma that was developed using the CaptureSelect platform.
That deal built on a partnership formed in 2006 which, in 2008, saw CaptureSelect ligand’s supplied to Kirin Pharma’s subsidiary Hematech for the production of human antibodies in transgenic cows.