Prokarium and Wacker Biotech Sign Manufacturing Contract for Prokarium’s Microbial Immunotherapy for Bladder Cancer Patients

Joint press release by WACKER and Prokarium

London / Amsterdam, Oct 12, 2021

Prokarium, a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the oncology field of microbial immunotherapy, and Wacker Biotech announced today that they had signed a contract for the manufacturing of Prokarium’s microbial novel immunotherapy for bladder cancer. Under the terms of the initial agreement, Wacker Biotech will ramp up GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) production of Prokarium’s Salmonella-based immunotherapy at its biotech site in Amsterdam using its LIBATEC® technology.

Fermenter Amsterdam — Wacker Biotech’s site in Amsterdam has experience with manufacturing Live Microbial Products (LMPs) since 2006. Fermenters are used to develop and produce LMPs (Photo: WACKER).

Preparations for the start of production, technology transfer and scale-up for a Phase 1 trial are already underway, as announced by the companies. “We are very pleased to work with Wacker Biotech given their deep expertise with live microbial products and GMP production,” said Kristen Albright, PharmD, Prokarium’s Chief Executive Officer. “This marks an exciting milestone essential to progressing our lead microbial immunotherapy program into clinic.”

As a CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization), Wacker Biotech will use its LIBATEC® technology platform for Live Microbial Products (LMPs) in the project. The company’s site in Amsterdam is a pioneer in the field of LMP production. “With our LIBATEC® platform, Wacker Biotech offers its customers over 15 years’ experience in process development and manufacturing pharmaceuticals that contain living microorganisms,” said Jörg Lindemann, Managing Director of Wacker Biotech B.V. “The LIBATEC® platform can be used for a wide range of Live Microbial Products and is perfectly suited to support Prokarium with their Salmonella-based immunotherapy.”

About Prokarium

Prokarium is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the field of microbial immunotherapy. The company’s pipeline is designed to unlock the next level of immuno-oncology by building on the most recent advances in cancer immunology. Prokarium’s lead program is focused on transforming the treatment paradigm in bladder cancer by orchestrating immune-driven, long-lasting antitumor effects. Prokarium is based London, UK. For further information, visit www.prokarium.com.

About Wacker Biotech

Wacker Biotech GmbH, Wacker Biotech B.V. and Wacker Biotech US Inc. are full-service contract manufacturers of therapeutic proteins, live microbial products (LMPs), vaccines based on microbial systems and plasmid DNA. Wacker Biotech’s portfolio extends from strain/process development and analytical testing through to production for clinical and commercial applications. Wacker Biotech maintains three GMP-compliant (Good Manufacturing Practice), FDA- and EMA-certified production plants at its Jena and Halle sites in Germany and in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The company’s most recent acquisition is its San Diego site (Wacker Biotech US Inc.), added in February 2021. Wacker Biotech GmbH, Wacker Biotech B.V. and Wacker Biotech US Inc.are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Munich-based WACKER Group. For more information visit: www.wacker.com/biologics.