• Easier Access to Platform for COVID-19-related Development
    Jesús Zurdo
  • Terry Pizzie

News & Views

Easier Access to Platform for COVID-19-related Development

May 06 2020

Special licensing terms have enabled faster access to Horizon Discovery’s cGMP-compliant CHOSOURCE™ platform for the development or production of therapeutic proteins, diagnostic assay components or vaccines relating to COVID-19.

The platform includes a gene-edited Glutamine Synthetase ('GS') knockout Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) K1 cell line, a well-established GS expression system recognised in the industry and by regulators as suitable for high yield biomanufacturing.

Jesús Zurdo, Global Head Bioprocessing, Horizon Discovery said: “The current coronavirus crisis is highlighting existing shortcomings in the development of much-needed therapeutics. Horizon Discovery is fully committed to help innovators in their efforts to develop new solutions to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. We are providing immediate access to our state-of-the-art bioproduction platform under very favorable terms to facilitate such efforts.”

Terry Pizzie, CEO, Horizon Discovery said: “We are committed to providing flexible, royalty-free access licensing terms and solutions that streamline development and production processes. Building upon more than a decade of experience in cell line engineering, we developed our CHOSOURCE cell line and now support a growing number of pharmaceutical companies in bioproduction. We are doing all that we can to support the fight against COVID-19 and hope that offering rapid access to our CHOSOURCE platform will help to accelerate the development and validation of new therapies to combat the pandemic.”

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