Under the agreement, BioCat will manage the promotion, marketing, sales and support of the Vmax Express cells and media for the European market, offering ten reactions for €197 ($236) to clients.
BioCat spokesperson Michael Hartmann told us researchers who deal with the overexpression of proteins in bacterial systems (such as E. coli) will benefit from the arrangement.
“They can now benefit from a powerful new (alternative) expression system, offered by BioCat,” he said.
Vmax Express
SGI-DNA – a subsidiary of Synthetic Genomis – launched Vmax Express in January this year to replace E.coli-based platforms for the manufacture of recombinant proteins and biologic drugs.
The platform is compatible with standard plasmids, antibiotics and growth media used in other bacterial protein expression systems.
According to manufacturer SGI-DNA, Vmax has a faster doubling time and generates greater biomass to yield larger amounts of soluble recombinant protein than traditional systems.
Hartmann said industry demand for expression systems remains strong, and he expects the arrangement will attract new business.
“There still is and always was a significant demand for expression systems,” he told us.
BioCat will house the platforms at its Heidelberg, Germany-based facility.