Intrexon and Johnson Matthey Collaborate on Fermentative Production of Peptide-based Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients

BUDAPEST, Hungary, June 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON), a leader in the engineering and industrialization of biology to improve the quality of life and health of the planet, and Johnson Matthey (LN: JMAT), a global leader in science that enables cleaner air, improved health and more efficient use of natural resources, today announced they have entered into an exclusive collaboration focused on the development of microbial strains for fermentative production of peptide-based active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).    

Peptide-based APIs are used as highly effective treatments in numerous therapeutic classes. However due to their structural complexity, peptides often are costly and difficult to produce, requiring specialized equipment and reagents and lengthy synthetic sequences with low chemical yields. 

Through the collaboration, Intrexon will utilize its proprietary microbial hosts and fermentation processes for expression of peptides with high fidelity and titer.  Intrexon will concentrate on the strain generation, initial fermentation and downstream isolation, as well as purification of the target APIs.  Following this foundational work, Johnson Matthey (JM) will be responsible for product scale-up, formulation, and commercialization. 

"Peptides are an important class of therapeutic agents and JM is pleased to be collaborating with the Intrexon team in using their innovative biologically-based technologies to access these technically challenging APIs," commented Robert MacLeod, Chief Executive of JM. "Through their strain engineering capabilities, we believe there is significant potential for more efficient production of these important compounds."

"As a leading provider of complex APIs and pharmaceutical services, JM is an ideal partner for this program," said Randal J. Kirk, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Intrexon. "Their expertise and capacity, combined with Intrexon's powerful platform for the identification, design and engineering of production cells, should provide significant potential for more efficient production of such high-cost active ingredients."

Under the terms of the agreement, JM will have access to Intrexon's technologies and expertise for microbe-based fermentative production of specific target APIs, and Intrexon will receive a technology access fee and reimbursement for all research and development costs. The agreement also provides for milestone payments to Intrexon, as well as royalties based on net sales of commercialized products.  

About Intrexon Corporation
Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON) is Powering the Bioindustrial Revolution with Better DNA^™ to create biologically-based products that improve the quality of life and the health of the planet.  The Company's integrated technology suite provides its partners across diverse markets with industrial-scale design and development of complex biological systems delivering unprecedented control, quality, function, and performance of living cells.  We call our synthetic biology approach Better DNA^®, and we invite you to discover more at www.dna.com or follow us on Twitter at @Intrexon, on Facebook, and LinkedIn.

About Johnson Matthey
Johnson Matthey is a global leader in science that enables a cleaner and healthier world.  With over 200-years of sustained commitment to innovation and technological breakthroughs that improve the function, performance and safety of our customer's products. Our science has a global impact in areas such as low emission transport, pharmaceuticals, chemical processing and making the most efficient use of the planet's natural resources. Today more than 13,000 Johnson Matthey professionals collaborate with our network of customers and partners to make a real difference to the world around us. For more information, visit www.matthey.com

Inspiring science, enhancing life

Trademarks
Intrexon, Powering the Bioindustrial Revolution with Better DNA, and Better DNA are trademarks of Intrexon and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement
Some of the statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations and projections about future events and generally relate to our plans, objectives and expectations for the development of our business.  Although management believes that the plans and objectives reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and actual future results may be materially different from the plans, objectives and expectations expressed in this press release.

For more information regarding Intrexon Corporation, contact:
Investor Contact:
Christopher Basta
Vice President, Investor Relations
Tel: +1 (561) 410-7052
investors@intrexon.com

Corporate Contact:
Marie Rossi, Ph.D.
Director, Technical Communications
Tel: +1 (301) 556-9850
publicrelations@intrexon.com

For more information regarding Johnson Matthey, contact:
Kate Whelan
Notch Communications
+46(0) 70 238 11 49
kate.whelan@notchcommunications.co.uk

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/intrexon-and-johnson-matthey-collaborate-on-fermentative-production-of-peptide-based-active-pharmaceutical-ingredients-300472701.html

SOURCE Intrexon Corporation