Plant Research International B.V. and Bayer BioScience N.V. have entered into a contract research collaboration in the field of protein glycosylation in plants. This is another step in Bayer’s strategy to further explore the opportunities in the area of Plant Made Pharmaceuticals – a process which Bayer has initiated at the beginning of 2006 and is steered since then by Bayer Innovation GmbH.
Glycosylation is a process by which certain sugar molecules are added to proteins. Understanding and controlling this process in plants can enable researchers to enhance considerably the activity or bioavailability of new therapeutic proteins such as antibodies, hormones and vaccines.
The established research collaboration is aimed at modifying the glycosylation machinery in plants in order to widen the scope of the magnICON® technology as a platform for the production of therapeutic proteins. MagnICON® technology, Bayer’s pro-viral expression system, is an ideal 'desktop' system for fast gene construct engineering, screening and optimization in plants. Bayer is currently developing it into an industrial process for manufacturing high-value proteins.
Plant Research International, part of Wageningen UR, is a recognized leader in the field of glyco-engineering and glycan analysis research. Through this collaboration, PRI will further expand its expertise in the field of glycobiology and it illustrates PRI’s ambition to assist commercial partners in developing plants for the production of therapeutic proteins.
Bayer Innovation GmbH (BIG), headquartered in Düsseldorf, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer. BIG evaluates and develops new business fields for the Bayer Group that are related to Bayer’s core competencies of health care, nutrition and innovative materials and complement its current key areas of innovation and business.
Bayer CropScience and BioScience NV
Bayer BioScience N.V. located in Ghent, Belgium is one of the innovation centers of the BioScience Business Group within Bayer CropScience AG. Bayer CropScience AG, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about EUR 5.7 billion (2006), is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of about 17,900 and is represented in more than 120 countries.