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MAMMALIAN HEPATOCYTES, A SOURCE OF THERAPEUTIC PROTEINS

Award Information
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Branch: National Institutes of Health
Contract: 1R43GM066480-01
Agency Tracking Number: GM066480
Amount: $133,586.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: N/A
Solicitation Number: N/A
Timeline
Solicitation Year: N/A
Award Year: 2002
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): N/A
Award End Date (Contract End Date): N/A
Small Business Information
MULTICELL ASSOCIATES 55 ACCESS RD, STE 700
WARWICK, RI 02886
United States
DUNS: N/A
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 RONALD FARIS
 (401) 738-7560
 FARIS@MULTICELLTECHNOLOGIES.COM
Business Contact
Phone: (401) 738-7560
Email: TRENKLER@MULTICELLTECHNOLOGIES.COM
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The safe and efficient production of novel therapeutic proteins represents an expanding market of the biopharmaceutical industry that is fueled by the recent completion of the Human Genome Project and by rapid technological advances in the field of proteomics. Although many of these therapeutic proteins will be mass-produced by recombinant technology, there will be occasions where the commercialization of complex heterologous proteins that require extensive posttranslational modification will be better accomplished by isolating the native form of the protein. MultiCell Technologies (MCT) has developed proprietary technology for the long-term cultivation of primary human hepatocytes, as well as created numerous immortalized mammalian hepatocyte cell lines, that may provide a readily available and reproducible source of therapeutic plasma proteins (TPP). The production of TPP by cell-based systems would avoid the hazards of blood-derived products, the most notable of which is viral contamination. Since many plasma proteins require liver specific posttranslational modifications for full activity, we reason that hepatocyte-derived TPP may out perform their recombinant counterpart. In this Phase I application, we plan to investigate the feasibility of utilizing mammalian hepatocytes as a commercial source of therapeutic plasma proteins. Our rationale is founded on the development of several proprietary technologies that has led to the creation of two strategies for hepatocyte-based protein expression systems. In Aim 1 we plan to explore the utilization of primary human hepatocyte cultures for the production of TPP. The feasibility of this strategy is based upon MCT's development of proprietary serum-free culture conditions that support the long-term survival and function of primary and cryopreserved human hepatocytes. In Aim 2 we propose to evaluate the biological activity of hepatocyte-derived plasma proteins in order to confirm that immortalized hepatocyte cell lines can be used as a source of functional plasma proteins.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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