Microbia, Ranbaxy Announce Collaboration to Advance Pharmaceutical Biomanufacturing
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Microbia, Inc. today announced a collaboration with Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. to develop improved, higher-yielding biomanufacturing processes using Microbia's Precision Engineering(TM) technology. The objective is to apply Precision Engineering(TM) to produce pharmaceuticals with high efficiency and purity and to accelerate the process development cycle. Terms were not disclosed.
"Ranbaxy has chosen Microbia to apply its pioneering Precision Engineering(TM) technologies to our processes because of its potential to significantly advance our capabilities," said Pushpinder Bindra, Senior Vice President, Global Manufacturing of Ranbaxy. "We hope this will be the first in a series of product collaborations with Microbia focused on advancing our biomanufacturing operations with cutting-edge biotechnologies."
Precision Engineering(TM) is a comprehensive technology that targets the physiological control networks in fungi and bacteria to harness their metabolic potential. The technology is a systems-based approach to engineering the regulatory circuitry of microbial mini-factories used in industrial-scale production of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. Benefits of Precision Engineering(TM) include reduced process improvement cycle time and the ability to increase production without having to expand biomanufacturing facilities. These advances have applications to existing products, as well as to novel manufacturing processes based upon new biosynthetic pathways.
"We are pleased that Ranbaxy, one of the world's leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, has selected Microbia as a partner," said Peter Hecht, CEO of Microbia. "Using Precision Engineering(TM), our goal is to dramatically reduce the process improvement cycle, allowing the rapid expansion of production capacity without significant capital investment."
Microbia (www.microbia.com) is a privately held biotechnology company using a systems-based approach to making breakthrough drugs and biomanufacturing processes. The Company is developing Anti-Invasin(TM) and Anti-Biofilm(TM) therapeutics-new classes of anti-infectives targeting fungal and bacterial pathogens-and is applying Precision Engineering(TM) to improve biomanufacturing efficiencies for pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. Microbia has raised $59 million in private equity financing and is located in Cambridge, Mass.
Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (www.ranbaxy.com), India's largest pharmaceutical company, manufactures and markets branded generic pharmaceuticals and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients. Ranbaxy's continued focus on R&D has resulted in several approvals in developed markets and significant progress in New Drug Discovery Research. Ranbaxy's foray into Novel Drug Delivery Systems has led to proprietary "platform technologies" resulting in a number of products under development. The Company is selling its products in over 70 countries and has an expanding international portfolio of affiliates, joint ventures and alliances, ground operations in 25 countries and manufacturing operations in 7 countries. |
