Wheeler Bio licenses antibody production tech from ATUM

Wheeler Bio announced today that it expanded its capabilities through the licensing of ATUM’s miFuc platform.

ATUM designed miFuc for the expression of recombinant proteins containing afucosylated glycans. The technology supports the development of antibodies with a significant reduction in fucosylation without affecting product titer, cellular growth rates or incurring global glycan liabilities. ATUM’s proprietary Leap-In Transposase technology allows for the production of antibodies with miFuc embedded expression vectors that exhibit significantly increased antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC).

According to Wheeler, this results in improved efficacy for select therapeutics. The licensing agreement gives Wheeler’s clients the option to produce therapeutic antibodies with greater effector engagement and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity for increased therapeutic windows with reduced toxicity.

Wheeler previously integrated ATUM’s VectorGPS, Leap-In Transposase and miCHO host cell line in its Portable CMC process platform. The additional licensing further expands the company’s antibody platform capabilities. The company said it wants to offer an open-source antibody platform to ensure that emerging biotechs have access to the highest quality development and manufacturing for the transition from discovery to early-phase clinical trials.

“We are thrilled to partner again with ATUM on another blend of ATUM and Wheeler Bio technologies”, said Jesse McCool, Wheeler CEO & co-Founder. “With ATUM’s miFuc technology now integrated with our Portable CMC platform and screening workflows, our clients now have more optionality for their pharmaceutical development without adding risk to timeline, manufacturability, and scale-up.”