Prolific Machines, a biotechnology innovator harnessing light to deliver unprecedented cellular control, has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to leverage its pioneering platform to produce more affordable mAbs. The company’s technology has the potential to reduce mAb production costs while enhancing product quality, making these drugs more accessible and affordable for the prevention of infectious diseases like malaria, HIV, and RSV in LMICs.
MAbs are revolutionizing how diseases are treated and even cured, creating a profound impact on human health. Unlike vaccines, which rely on the body’s ability to generate a strong immune response over time to develop a high level of protective antibodies, mAbs can provide protection almost immediately after administration and work even in immunocompromised individuals.
High manufacturing costs make mAbs prohibitively expensive to much of the developing world, with access to these life-changing therapies largely limited to high-income countries. While 80% of the sales of monoclonal antibodies are in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, 85% of the world’s population live in LMICs according to an International AIDS Vaccine Initiative report.
mAbs are among the most promising therapies to prevent and block malaria transmission. The World Health Organization estimated over 600,000 people worldwide died from malaria in 2022. More than 75% were children under age five.
Optogenetics is a promising biomanufacturing tool for mAb and difficult to express (DTE) protein production as it provides precise, highly tunable control over any biological process. Harnessing optogenetics for mAb production could lower the cost per dose, increasing accessibility and preventing diseases such as malaria, HIV and RSV in the poorest countries.
Prolific Machines, with support from the foundation, will use its expertise in optogenetics to demonstrate the production of mAbs . If successful, the methods could readily be applied to address unmet medical needs in LMICs, and the eventual drug could lead to broad implementation to the most vulnerable people by making safe and effective mAbs more affordable so they can be used to prevent infectious diseases where they are needed most.
“Our platform offers massive potential to produce better biologics and cell-based therapies using light. We’re honored to be receiving support from the Gates Foundation to reimagine how these medicines are made so that we can open up access to these critical therapies,” said Deniz Kent, PhD Prolific Machine’s Co-Founder & CEO. “We look forward to leveraging our learnings from this grant to ensure the success of future programs.”
Learn more about Prolific Machines’ technology and capabilities at prolific-machines.com, and contact partners@prolific-machines.com to explore partnership opportunities.