BIA Separations–Univ Zagreb: purification technology, 202002– commercial license + collab developm of virus + viral vector immunoaffinity purification

	Period	2020-02-19
	Partner, 1st	BIA Separations d.o.o.
	Group	Sartorius (Group)
	Partner, 2nd	University of Zagreb, Centre for Research and Knowledge Transfer in Biotechnology
	Group	University of Zagreb
	Product	sample purification / sample separation

BIA Separations d.o.o.. (2/19/20). "Press Release: BIA Separations and University of Zagreb Sign License Agreement to Commercialize Novel Elution Method for Virus and Viral Vector purification". Ajdovšcina & zagreb.

Agreement gives BIA Separations access to proprietary technology to better preserve integrity, infectivity and potency of immunoaffinity-purified viral vectors for gene therapy

BIA Separations, a leading bio-chromatography development and manufacturing company, announced it has signed a licensing agreement with the University of Zagreb to commercialize a novel elution method that helps preserve the integrity, infectivity and potency of viruses during immunoaffinity purification. The University of Zagreb will provide BIA Separations with access to proprietary technology, while BIA Separations will market the technology to biopharma, biotech and life science industries globally. As part of the agreement, research teams from both organisations will collaborate to develop follow-on technologies to support the purification of viruses and viral vectors for research and clinical use.

One of the key disadvantages of the immunoaffinity chromatography is partial degradation of viral particles as a result of low pH conditions required for the elution. The technology overcomes this by using a concentrated solution of specifically selected amino acids and their salts, maintaining a neutral pH (6.0 – 8.0) which results in the highly effective elution from immunoaffinity chromatographic support of intact and functional viruses for gene therapy application.

BIA Separations will commercialize the technology through sales of the Company’s core separations products and services, or as individual license agreements.

Aleš Štrancar, CEO of BIA Separations commented: “BIA Separations monolithic column technology is now well established and following this success we are focussed on providing customers with a “one-stop-shop” for the manufacture of gene therapy vectors, vaccines, exosomes, DNA/RNA and any novel complex biopharma product. In order to achieve fully integrated upstream and downstream processing with robust in-process control we are collaborating with other leaders in the industry to access the latest technologies and products. This agreement with the University Zagreb is one of a number currently in the pipeline and supports our ultimate goal.”

Professor Miljenko Šimpraga, Vice-rector for Innovation, Technology Transfer and Communication at the University of Zagreb added: “The University of Zagreb is pleased to see solutions developed by our researchers contributing to improvements in medical biotechnology, and being brought closer to users through our work with innovation-oriented industry partners such as BIA Separations. As a research university, this is an important achievement which is fully aligned with our aim to create a positive impact on society.”

For further information visit www.biaseparations.com/en/featured/viruses

ENDS

Notes to Editors

For a high-resolution image, please contact Zyme Communications

Media contact

Sarah Jeffery
Zyme Communications
E: sarah.jeffery@zymecommunications.com
T: +44 (0)7771 730 919

At BIA Separations

Jana Krapež Trošt
Head of Marketing
E: marketing@monoliths.com
T: +386 (0)59 699 505

At University of Zagreb
Centre for Research and Knowledge Transfer in Biotechnology

Marija Brgles, PhD
Principal Inventor
E: mbrgles@unizg.hr
T: +385 (0)1 6414 313

About BIA Separations
www.biaseparations.com

BIA Separations is the leading developer and manufacturer of CIM® (Convective Interaction Media) monolithic chromatographic columns for production, purification, and analytics of large biomolecules. The company has research and production facilities in Slovenia, with sales offices and distributors throughout the world. BIA Separations’ mission is to develop and produce CIM® monolithic columns of highest quality and provide superior research and method development services for purification and analytics of biomolecules. In addition, the company aims to provide unique in-process control tools to better understand and control the bioprocesses.

About University of Zagreb
www.unizg.hr

The University of Zagreb, founded in 1669, is the oldest Croatian university and the largest university in Central Europe. As an all-encompassing public university in Central Europe, it provides education and research in all scientific fields: arts, biomedicine, biotechnology, engineering, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences as well as a broad spectrum of courses at all programme levels, from undergraduate to postgraduate. With a total of 31 faculties and 3 art academies, the University of Zagreb is the flagship of educational institutions in Croatia, where more than 7,900 teachers and 70,000 students acquire and develop knowledge and skills. The University of Zagreb excels in teaching and research, and accounts for 60 percent of all scientific outputs in Croatian universities.