Asimov, a synthetic biology company focused on therapeutic design and manufacturing, has announced two strategic partnerships aimed at revolutionizing biologics production through its CHO Edge cell line development platform. The collaborations with Cytiva, a global life sciences leader, and LOTTE BIOLOGICS, a contract development manufacturing organization, represent significant steps toward addressing the persistent challenge of low-titer cell lines in complex biologics production.
Addressing Production Challenges in Complex Biologics
Despite substantial improvements in cell line development technology over the years, the majority of complex biologics continue to be produced using relatively low-titer cell lines. Asimov's CHO Edge System addresses this limitation through molecule-specific expression optimization, leveraging a GS knock-out CHO host, a hyperactive transposase, a library of genetic elements, and advanced computational tools to design and optimize vectors.
The system demonstrates significant performance improvements, enabling customers to routinely achieve 7-11 g/L clones across biologic modalities while substantially reducing the risk of low-titer cell lines. This capability is particularly crucial for complex modalities that hold the potential to significantly impact human health.
Comprehensive Solution with Cytiva Partnership
The collaboration with Cytiva creates an integrated offering that combines Asimov's CHO Edge platform with Cytiva's HyClone media and feed solutions and Fast Trak process development services. This partnership provides customers with a complete suite of solutions spanning cell line development, cell culture media optimization, analytical and stability testing, and scaling to GMP production.
"Central to this collaboration is the extensive optimization of our CHO Edge System in Cytiva's HyClone media and feed, enabling high titer across biologic formats," said Alec Nielsen, co-founder and CEO of Asimov. "By integrating a robust cell line development capability into Cytiva's established biomanufacturing technologies, we can enhance customers' production efficiency and accelerate their development timelines for critical therapeutics."
Ludovic Brellier, President of Hardware Solutions at Cytiva, emphasized the synergistic nature of the partnership: "We're two innovative players coming together to provide the technologies and services our customers need to accelerate the development of advanced therapeutics. By combining Asimov's integrated suite of cells, genetic tools, AI models, and software with our extensive process development services, customers will have a cohesive path from development to commercialization."
Manufacturing Scale-Up Through LOTTE BIOLOGICS Alliance
The partnership with LOTTE BIOLOGICS focuses on enabling accelerated cell line development and scale-up at the company's Syracuse Bio Campus in New York. This collaboration addresses the critical transition from development to manufacturing by providing customers with seamless pathways from cell line development to large-scale GMP production.
The CHO Edge platform's design enables advanced cell-line development by leveraging computational models and synthetic biology tools for rapid generation of cell lines with high productivity and quality. The successful transfer of several molecules has already demonstrated the scalability and speed achievable through this partnership.
"We're delighted to be directly integrating with LOTTE BIOLOGICS's established manufacturing capabilities, meaning our customers can now transition seamlessly from cell line development to large-scale GMP production, and drastically shorten their development cycles," Nielsen stated.
Strategic Infrastructure and Capabilities
The LOTTE BIOLOGICS facility offers advanced infrastructure and capabilities necessary to support the seamless integration of the CHO Edge platform. The collaboration enables LOTTE to accommodate a wide range of scales from early-stage clinical trials through large commercial projects, leveraging flexible manufacturing capabilities to meet specific project needs.
James Park, CEO of LOTTE BIOLOGICS, highlighted the partnership's potential impact: "We believe this agreement will unlock the full potential of both companies' strengths. Ultimately, our goal is to make a meaningful impact on patients' lives, and we will continue striving to be a company that contributes to a healthier future for all."
The selection of LOTTE BIOLOGICS as a partner was influenced by their expertise in biomanufacturing, commitment to innovation, customer-centric approach, established infrastructure, and global reach. These factors align with Asimov's long-term goals of scaling the CHO Edge platform and delivering its benefits to a diverse customer base.
