Cobra and nanotech firm Tecrea win grant for AAV scale-up
Contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Cobra and cell delivery company Tecrea received a £112,291 ($166,000) grant from Innovate UK for the 15-month project.
AAV is used as a vector in making biopharmaceuticals.
Growing commercial demand cannot be met by current production methods, Cobra said.
The collaboration “aims to achieve scalable GMP production of AAV at low cost” using NanoCargo, Tecrea’s low-toxicity nanoparticle-based transfection system and Cobra’s hollow-fibre bioreactors, it added.
The nanotechnology delivery platform is expected to scale up well and help produce new therapies.
UK grants
The award from Innovate UK’s ‘Technology Inspired Innovation’ bioscience competition is the latest collaborative grant for Cobra.
In February the company received £217,000 ($245,000) from Innovate UK and BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) to work on E.Coli applications with the University of Manchester’s RiboTite translation inhibition tech.
Innovate UK is one of the organisations behind a £20m ($31m) bursary divided between 23 biotechs earlier this year for the development of antibiotic, cell expression and other projects.
