Pfenex Inc. today announced that Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has awarded Pfenex a sub-contract valued at $3.1 million to help develop a robust, scalable, cGMP ready production process for large scale production of full length Circumsporozoite protein (CSP) from Plasmodium falciparum. This contract is a result of successful pre-clinical studies performed utilizing the full length CSP antigen expressed in Pfenex Expression Technology. The subcontract was funded in whole or part with Federal funds from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under SAIC's prime contract N01.AI.05421 which is valued at $62.4 million.
"We are pleased to be awarded this contract in support of DMID's efforts to find an effective therapy for malaria," stated Bertrand C. Liang, Chief Executive Officer, "Pfenex Expression Technology has made the recombinant production of significant quantities of full length, soluble, active CSP antigen a reality, a complex protein that has previously been refractory to recombinant expression in other expression platforms."
Pfenex will immediately commence process development activities while continuing to provide materials to SAIC for ongoing pre-clinical studies.
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