Large Scale Biology Corporation Begins Test Shipments of Its Plant-Produced Recombinant Aprotinin Product
Friday January 9, 7:01 am ET
VACAVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2004--Large Scale Biology Corporation (Nasdaq:LSBC - News) today announced that it has begun shipping test quantities of its plant-produced recombinant aprotinin product (rAprotinin) to prospective customers for R&D and manufacturing applications. LSBC is on schedule to begin sales of its research-grade rAprotinin by mid-year.
Aprotinin is a protease inhibitor commercially marketed for medical, research and biomanufacturing applications. Unlike LSBC's rAprotinin, aprotinins on the market today are derived by extraction from bovine lungs. Supply constraints and the continuing concern over contamination of bovine-derived products with pathogenic agents such as the one causing BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), also known as "mad cow" disease, create a potential need for safe, abundantly produced aprotinin.
LSBC manufactures its rAprotinin in plants that are not genetically modified and the final product contains no animal-derived materials. "Our ability to supply R&D, manufacturing, and eventually medical markets with safe and competitively priced products is a cornerstone of our product-focused strategy," stated Kevin Ryan, LSBC's President and CEO. "The recent resurfacing of the BSE issue in North America underscores the need for producing safer products and making them available to the biomedical community. LSBC's unique commercial technology for biomanufacturing a wide variety of protein products positions us to satisfy unmet market needs, such as for rAprotinin," Mr. Ryan added... |
