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Helper Plasmid Display Technology LicensedThe German company MorphoSys acquired a full license for the use of “helper plasmid display technology” developed in B Division’s Advanced Measurement Science Group. Andrew Bradbury (B-9) and his team developed the helper plasmid technology in 2006, to aid in antibody screening by simplifying the process and eliminating the need for helper phage (short for bacteriophage). [Reference: “Eliminating helper phage from phage display”, Nucleic Acids Research 34, e145 (2006), doi:10.1093/nar/gkl772.] Biologists often make use of bacteria and bacteriophage (viruses that infect bacteria) in their research, taking advantage of their minimal genomes and rapid growth and reproduction. One such use is to create libraries of phages, each of which has a different receptor on the surface, allowing the selection of specific receptors that recognize targets of interest. However, because the process requires helper phage that contains all the genes needed for replication, the libraries are often “contaminated” with excess helper phage. The team’s plasmid display technology eliminates this problem, making it possible to screen a library of phagemids—each displaying a different antibody—for a specific antibody of interest without contamination with helper phage. This technology results in a genetically pure library population. MorphoSys is a therapeutic antibody company using the display technology under a non-exclusive license with LANL. The company will incorporate it into their proprietary high-throughput platform to select antibodies for drug development. One such antibody-based drug is Herceptin, developed by Genentech, which is currently used for breast cancer therapy. Discussions to license the technology to biotech reagent companies are also ongoing. David Hadley (TT-DO) is the business development executive leading the licensing effort for this technology. |
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