The deal – financial terms of which were not disclosed – sees Trenzyme add Celonic’s SErum Free EXpression technology – known as SEFEX – to its tech portfolio and will allow it to provide a broader range of services according to CEO Reinhold Horlacher.
"We are very happy since the deal enables us to extend our cell line services. From now on, we can additionally offer the generation of a cell line which can not only be used for R&D but also for subsequent GMP manufacturing purposes.
Horlacher also predicted the tech would help Trenzyme’s customers – which include Roche and Actelion according to its website – save time and money.
“There is no further need of two different cell lines as the generated R&D cell line can be directly upgraded to GMP manufacturing” he said.
Biosimilar services
The licensed technology is based on Celonic’s CHO-K1 based cell line, which the Swiss firm claims can achieve antibody production titres in excess of 7g per litre.
Celonic - which has been owned by JRS Pharma since 2011 - provides contract manufacturing services to the biopharmaceutical sector.
The firm is part of the an organisation called The Biosimilar Group along with protein maker Protagen, biosimilarity specialist Nurigon, clinical services firm Assign and regulatory affairs group Pharmalex.