Zydus Lifesciences Limited, through its biologics arm Zylidac Bio, has announced a strategic partnership with Prolific Machines. This collaboration aims to scale Prolific’s innovative optogenetics-enabled biologics manufacturing platform from early development through GMP production. The partnership leverages Zydus’s established manufacturing infrastructure in Emeryville, California, to provide an end-to-end solution for clients, enhancing yield, quality, and process control for complex biologics.
Zylidac Bio and Prolific Machines Forge Strategic Partnership
Zydus Lifesciences Limited, a prominent player in the life sciences sector, has announced a significant strategic alliance through its fully integrated biologics Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) arm, Zylidac Bio. The company is partnering with Prolific Machines, a biotechnology firm renowned for its advanced optogenetics-enabled solutions for biologics development and manufacturing.
Scaling Advanced Biologics Manufacturing
This collaboration is set to scale Prolific Machines’ light-controlled cell line development platform, designed to deliver higher yields, enhanced control, and superior quality for complex biologics. The partnership will transition Prolific’s technology from laboratory development to full GMP manufacturing. Both companies are headquartered in Emeryville, California, fostering a close working relationship and seamless integration of their capabilities.
Innovative Technology and End-to-End Solutions
Prolific Machines’ platform utilizes light to precisely control protein expression in engineered cell lines, offering substantial gains in productivity and product quality. It integrates optogenetics-enabled cell lines, specialized illumination systems, AI-driven process optimization, and advanced analytics. This technology is particularly beneficial for expressing challenging proteins, including multi-specific antibodies, fusion proteins, and cytokines. Zylidac Bio will initially undertake a tech transfer of Prolific’s process at a 50-liter scale, with plans to subsequently scale up client programs to 250 liters and into full GMP manufacturing. Prolific’s illumination hardware is designed to be compatible with Zylidac’s existing bioreactors, eliminating the need for customers to build new infrastructure.
Deniz Kent, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Prolific Machines, stated, “After demonstrating success at development scale with industry-leading yields across mAbs and difficult-to-express proteins, the next step is scaling the technology to GMP production for clinical and commercial supply. We are very pleased to partner with Zydus, with a proven team and a great new facility in immediate proximity to our labs in Emeryville.”
Steve Lavezoli, Chief Commercial Officer of Zylidac, added, “Our teams visited each other’s labs early on, and it was clear the capabilities were highly complementary. Prolific focuses on early-stage cell line development work, while we offer the process development, scale-up and GMP capacity required for later stages.”
About the Companies
Prolific Machines specializes in advancing biologics development and manufacturing through optogenetics-enabled cell lines and biomanufacturing solutions, aiming for improved yield, product quality, and process control.
Zylidac Bio is an integrated biologics manufacturer based in Emeryville, California, specializing in monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies, fusion proteins, and other complex biologics. The company offers end-to-end services from cell line development to drug substance and drug product manufacturing.
Source: BSE
