The Dow Chemical Company and greenovation Biotech will collaborate in research to develop fully mammalian-like plant glycosylation patterns, the companies announced today.

Many high-value therapeutic proteins must contain specific glycan or sugar structures to be fully effective and work safely in the human body. Glycoproteins produced by plants have structures which are similar but not identical to those produced by mammalian systems. A primary goal of the companies is to enable production of therapeutic antibodies in a moss system that are fully comparable to those produced in mammalian cell systems, and thereby advance the utility of plant-based production for biopharmaceuticals.

Under the agreement, greenovation will license selected Dow intellectual property covering certain modifications of glycosylation patterns in plants, and Dow will receive greenovation's data on its progress of such work in moss. No financial details are being released. Research will focus on optimizing galactosylation, the major step for achieving mammalian-like glycosylation for monoclonal antibodies. greenovation's successful double-knock-out of plant- specific sugar residues in moss will be the basis for the investigation.

"We are pleased to provide greenovation this license for work with their novel, moss-based closed expression system," said Dow's Carolyn Fritz, Global Business Director, Industrial Biotechnology. "Combining our technologies can help advance the effectiveness of plant-based production. This agreement reflects Dow's expanding range of work in multiple production systems that can offer value to pharmaceutical companies that need to produce therapeutic proteins for feasibility studies, clinical supply and full commercialization."

For greenovation Biotech, work with galactosylation is the next logical step after their successful knock-out of plant-specific glycosylation, according to Dr. Sabrina Wagner, greenovation CEO. "Dow's know-how and experience in modifying plant glycosylation patterns ideally complements our own work in this field," she said. "The collaboration allows us to proceed quickly with the development in our moss system."

Glycosylation Technologies

greenovation's moss bioreactor is a major innovation in the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals, combining the safety and cost advantages of plant-based systems with the advantages of a system that is closed to the environment. greenovation developed the bioreactor based on the fermentation of moss protonema, a green multicellular filament.

In 2002, Dow acquired key patents in glycosylation and began collaborating with Plant Research International B.V. of Wageningen, The Netherlands, to speed development of therapeutic proteins with mammalian-like glycan structures in transgenic plants. Part of Dow's role in that collaboration is to lead commercialization of the resulting exclusive technology for the therapeutic protein contract manufacturing market.

About greenovation

greenovation is a privately held biotechnology company based in Freiburg, Germany. The company was founded in 1999 as a university spin-off. Venture capital investors are Mediport Venture Fond II, Berlin, Seed Venture, Karlsruhe, and L-EA, Karlsruhe. In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, greenovation develops the moss production strains for biopharmaceuticals. For its glycosylation research, greenovation is also collaborating with the University of Freiburg and the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.

About Dow Plant Biopharmaceuticals

Dow Plant Biopharmaceuticals offers single-source contract development and manufacturing for production of complex therapeutic proteins, using plant- based technology, for biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical companies. Dow currently has a pipeline of client biopharmaceutical products in various stages of production, using multiple types of plant transgenic systems in an effort to overcome capacity limitations with lower capital and operating costs, offer a faster route to production and provide simpler downstream processing.

About Dow

Dow is a leading science and technology company that provides innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $28 billion, Dow serves customers in more than 170 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress, including food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of Sustainable Development, Dow and its approximately 50,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental, and social responsibilities.