AB Vector - AB Vector’s advantage

  AB Vector’s advantage
 
  AB Vector has developed a superproducing recombinant E.coli strain which is much more efficient in producing mature human GM-CSF than other producers of this protein (Fig. 1).
 
 
  Although biologically active GM-CSF has been successfully produced in E.coli, the reported levels are extremely poor1. Attaching fusion partners can improve the expression level (ibid), however the fusion protein has to be converted to the mature GM-CSF form by cleaving off the fusion partner which adds to costs.
 
  As a result, GM-CSF is among the most expensive growth factors that are used in research (www.invitrogen.com, www.sigma-aldrich.com). High costs limit its use in medicine even in Western counties2 and make it practically inaccessible in the developing world. AB Vector is open to collaborations regarding low-cost production of GM-CSF.
 
  References
   1. Bhattacharya et al., Mol. Biotechnol., 30(2), 103-116, 2005.
   2. Dale D.C., Drugs, 62 Suppl 1:1-15, 2002.