BIOMANUFACTURING: High Yields of a Fusion Protein - NeoRx Corp - Brief Article

Applied Genetics News,  Jan, 2000  

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Researchers at NeoRx Corp. (410 W. Harrison St., Seattle, WA 98119; Tel: 206/281-7001, Fax: 206/298-9442) have successfully produced in bacteria a fusion protein intended for use in the company's Pretarget Lymphoma product. The fusion protein comprises the binding portion of an anti-CD20 antibody genetically linked to streptavidin. The fusion protein is secreted at high concentration and spontaneously forms a tetramer with four binding sites for antigen and four binding sites for biotin, the ligand for streptavidin. The work was described by Yukang Lin of NeoRx's Molecular Biology Group, at the Antibody Engineering Conference in San Diego.

"The fusion protein is intended to replace the CD20/streptavidin chemical conjugate that we evaluated earlier this year in a Phase I safety study in patients with nonHodgkin's' lymphoma," says Karen Auditore-Hargreaves, phD, NeoRx's vice president of research and development. "The new construct not only provides a cost-effective, simplified process for production, but in animal models it also has shown superior targeting and pharmacokinetic characteristics to the chemical conjugate." The tumor-to-blood ratio of the fusion protein, when injected into animals, is five times as great as the chemical conjugate.

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