Status of recombinant protein business
There is a growing body of demand for production of recombinant proteins for therapeutic purpose. Especially the market of monoclonal antibody therapeutics is emerging and explosively expanding. It is said that manufacturing facilities will run short in the near future. It is expected that production of recombinant proteins in transgenic organisms such as cow, pig, chick, insects, yeasts and plants are put to practical use as new low cost-production systems.
Why silkworm?
Advantages of using silkworms for production of recombinant proteins
| ■ |
Currently, it costs $25 to produce 1 g recombinant protein with transgenic silkworms (can cost $5/g in the near future). |
| ■ |
A room less than 2 m2 is large enough to rear 100,000 silkworms annually, producing 100 g recombinant proteins. |
| ■ |
Transgenic silkworms are easily obtained by injection of DNA into eggs. |
| ■ |
Silkworm is raised on artificial diet in a clean room. |
| ■ |
Silkworm is a safe organism. There has been no reports that silkworm mediated human |
| ■ |
Life-cycle of silkworms is 45-days, making your research accelerate and expand in a short time. |
Our technology
Neosilk's core technology is "high level expression of recombinant proteins in cocoons of transgenic silkworms" We generate transgenic silkworms that spin silk containing recombinant proteins to build cocoons. The recombinant proteins are extractable from the cocoons under the condition where most of cocoon proteins remain insoluble. This technology allows us to obtain the recombinant proteins with little amount of contaminated cocoon proteins, making it simple to purify the recombinant proteins. Our production system with transgenic silkworms is suitable for manufacturing of recombinant monoclonal antibody and other protein-based therapeutics. Click the button and see how our technology works for recombinant protein production:
jellyfish green fluorescent protein (GFP)
human serum albumin (HSA)
monoclonal antibody (immunogrobulin G, IgG)
human gelatin (human type I collagenα1 chain cDNA product)
Contact us for more information.
| |
Publication |
| |
1. |
Tomita M, et al. A germline transgenic silkworm that secretes recombinant proteins in the sericin layer of cocoon. Transgenic Res. 2007;16:449-465. |
| |
2. |
Ogawa S, et al. Generation of a transgenic silkworm that secretes recombinant proteins in the sericin layer of cocoon: production of recombinant human serum albumin. J Biotechnol. 2007;128:531-544. |
| |
3. |
Hino R, et al. The generation of germline transgenic silkworms for the production of biologically active recombinant fusion proteins of fibroin and human basic fibroblast growth factor. Biomaterials. 2006;27:5715-5724. |
| |
4. |
Adachi T, et al. Generation of hybrid transgenic silkworms that express Bombyx mori prolyl-hydroxylase alpha-subunits and human collagens in posterior silk glands: Production of cocoons that contained collagens with hydroxylated proline residues. J Biotechnol. 2006;126:205-219. |
| |
5. |
Tomita M, et al. Transgenic silkworms produce recombinant human type III procollagen in cocoons. Nat Biotechnol. 2003;21:52-56. |
|
