Biolex Therapeutics was a biotechnology firm in the Research Triangle of North Carolina which was founded in 1997 and raised $190 million from investors. It filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on July 5, 2012. [1]
The company focused on expression of difficult-to-synthesize recombinant proteins in its LEX platform, which used Lemna, a duckweed. [2] The duckweeds are a family of small aquatic plants that can be grown in sterile culture. Biolex developed recombinant DNA technology for efficiently producing pharmaceutical proteins in Lemna. [3] Therapeutic glycosylated proteins, including monoclonal antibodies [4] and interferon (IFN-alpha2b) [5] have been produced using the LEX platform.
Biolex acquired Epicyte Pharmaceutical Inc. on May 6, 2004, and acquired the LemnaGene SA of Lyon, France in 2005. [6] Biolex was a privately held company, originally backed by Quaker BioVentures, The Trelys Funds, and Polaris Venture Partners. The term " plantibody" is trademarked by Biolex. In May 2012 Biolex announced that it sold the LEX System to Synthon, a Netherlands-based specialty pharmaceutical company. The sale included two preclinical biologics made with the LEX System, BLX-301, a humanized and glyco-optimized anti- CD20 antibody for non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma and other B-cell malignancies and BLX-155, a direct-acting thrombolytic. The financial terms of the sale were not disclosed. [7]
References
- ^ Chris Bagley, Staff Writer, for the Triangle Business Journal. July 6, 2012. Biolex Therapeutics files for $38M bankruptcy
- ^ Goodman Peter S. In N.C., A Second Industrial Revolution: Biotech Surge Shows Manufacturing Still Key to U.S. Economy [1] Washington Post Monday, September 3, 2007
- ^ John R. Gasdaska, David Spencer and Lynn Dickey "Advantages of Therapeutic Protein Production in the Aquatic Plant Lemna" BioProcessing Journal, Mar/Apr 2003.
- ^ Cox KM et al. Glycan optimization of a human monoclonal antibody in the aquatic plant Lemna minor. Nat Biotechnol. 2006 Dec; 24(12): 1591-7.
- ^ De Leede LG, Humphries JE, Bechet AC, Van Hoogdalem EJ, Verrijk R, Spencer DG. Novel controlled-release Lemna-derived IFN-alpha2b (Locteron): pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and tolerability in a phase I clinical trial. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2008 Feb; 28(2): 113-22.
- ^ Biolex Therapeutics Acquires Lemnagene S.A.
- ^ Biolex Sells LEX System to Synthon and Initiates Sale of Locteron(R) Press Release: Biolex Therapeutics – Mon, May 7, 2012.
External links
- Biotechnology companies of the United States
- Defunct pharmaceutical companies of the United States
- Life sciences industry
- Biotechnology companies established in 1997
- Biotechnology companies disestablished in 2012
- Pharmaceutical companies disestablished in 2012
- 1997 establishments in North Carolina
- 2012 disestablishments in North Carolina