THINK BEYOND CHO - THINK ESETEC^®

The microbial ESETEC^® expression and secretion system developed by WACKER is based on modified E. coli K12 strains and a set of proprietary plasmids. Similar to mammalian cells, the E. coli secretion strains can transfer proteins in their biologically active form across the outer cell membrane into the culture medium. ESETEC^® is routinely used in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and has been scaled up to 4,500-liter fermentation batches. Secreted product titers can reach up to 14 g/l, depending on the protein of interest. More complex molecules such as single-domain antibodies and fragments have been successfully produced with yields of several grams per liter. In any case, ESETEC^® allows recovery of the fully functional molecule from the culture broth, simplifies downstream purification and reduces manufacturing costs.

ESETEC^® perfectly combines the benefits of secretion with the fast growth of microbial systems, enabling more cost- and time-efficient production of any non-glycosylated therapeutic protein. Based on cutting-edge process simulations, ESETEC^® reduced the cost of goods by a factor of 3 compared to mammalian cells (assuming identical titers and process yields). The annual output of a dedicated 1,500-liter CHO facility was 30 kg compared to 111 kg using ESETEC^® on the same scale. This recognizable advantage in productivity and costs is mainly driven by shorter fermentation times and no need for viral depletion steps.

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Trained for Extremes

FOLDTEC^®

The FOLDTEC^® technology is based on proprietary E. coli strains optimized for high-quality inclusion bodies and superior yields (up to 12 grams per liter). Protein refolding is a key production stage in order to achieve the desired active properties where poorly soluble substances form aggregated inclusion bodies within the cell. Complemented by our years of experience in refolding and a tailored screening approach, FOLDTEC^® offers better efficacies, smaller folding volumes and fully scalable manufacturing processes without the need for antibiotics or undesired phage components.
FOLDTEC^® provides unique solutions for the sophisticated manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals by refolding, in synergy with WACKER’s high-cell-density fermentation systems.

PASylation^® is our innovative technology for the extension of plasma half-life of biopharmaceuticals (in collaboration with XL protein GmbH)

A major limitation of most biopharmaceutical proteins and peptides is their fast clearance from circulation via kidney filtration, which strongly hampers their efficacy in human therapy. In collaboration with XL-protein GmbH, a privately owned German biotech company, WACKER offers the production of PASylated biopharmaceuticals using its proprietary ESETEC^® E. coli secretion technology, enabling for example the efficient production of PASylated Fabs with yields > 3 g/L.

Visit www.xl-protein.com to learn more about PASylation^®.