ProdiGene, Inc., announced today the availability of TrypZean™, the industry’s first commercial plant-produced recombinant bovine-sequence trypsin.

Trypsin is a serine protease produced by the pancreas that catalyzes the breakdown of proteins. Trypsin has several commercial applications, including the production of insulin, in the manufacture of both human and veterinary vaccines, cell culture and wound care.  Historically, this protein has been purified from bovine or porcine pancreas. Recently, however, this practice has come under increasing scrutiny due to concerns about Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and other animal pathogens that might be transmitted in treatments using animal-derived proteins.

“Based in part on the current public health issues surrounding BSE, TrypZean™ offers an excellent alternative to animal-sourced proteins,” said John Reiher, CEO of ProdiGene. “Our proprietary technology provides a recombinant system that can now produce bovine trypsin in large quantities in corn.”

ProdiGene’s technology platform involves the use of transgenic corn plants engineered to produce recombinant proteins in the seed. Following harvest, the seed is processed to produce a quality starting material for further refinement using proprietary purification techniques.

Reiher stated that TrypZean™ is currently being produced in large quantities and has essentially the same physical and functional properties as bovine trypsin, making it ideal for all research and manufacturing applications. The goal is to bring to the industry a highly pure, safe and reliable product for use in all trypsin applications.

ProdiGene, Inc. is a private biotechnology company pioneering the use of transgenic plants to produce recombinant proteins for the pharmaceutical, animal health and industrial protein markets. It is the first and, to date, only company to produce and market a recombinant protein product from transgenic plants.