Primrose Bio and ExPLoRNA Therapeutics Announce Strategic Partnership to Advance mRNA Medicines

SAN DIEGO and WARSAW, Poland, Sept. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Primrose Bio, a leading biotechnology company specializing in technologies that improve the manufacturing of next-generation therapeutics, and ExPLoRNA Therapeutics, a pioneering biotechnology company advancing mRNA technologies, vaccines, and therapeutics, announced today a strategic partnership aimed at jointly developing and marketing products for mRNA medicines.

The landscape of mRNA medicines is evolving, marked by an expanding pipeline of drug candidates, a diverse range of targeted therapeutic indications, and advancements in drug design and delivery. Consequently, the pharmaceutical industry is confronted with pressing challenges in manufacturing. To effectively address these challenges, innovative solutions are necessary.

Primrose Bio's expertise in engineering high-performance RNA polymerases (Prima RNApols™) enhances both the yield and fidelity of mRNA synthesis, effectively reducing double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and lowering costs. This advancement meets the rigorous manufacturing demands for a wide range of mRNA-based applications in therapeutics and vaccines.

ExPLoRNA Therapeutics specializes in innovations of mRNA as a therapeutic platform, focusing on novel cap analogs vital for successful protein production. Their technology significantly increases protein production compared to standard cap analogs, limits dsRNA formation, and brings down IVT cost, offering promising advancements in therapeutic effectiveness.

Together, Primrose Bio and ExPLoRNA will co-develop and offer RNA polymerases and capping compounds, co-optimized to enhance mRNA quality, manufacturing performance, and therapeutic safety and efficacy. This partnership provides mRNA drug developers superior manufacturing solutions and innovative design options through advanced capping chemistry.

"We are excited to work with ExPLoRNA to bring industry leading mRNA cap analogs to the market and pairing them with Primrose Bio's RNA polymerases," said Helge Zieler, CEO of Primrose Bio. "This partnership will result in broader manufacturing and design options for companies developing mRNA therapeutics and vaccines, facilitating access to the most efficient capping chemistry available."

"Through joining forces, we'll advance the mRNA as a modality from the first applications to the next generation," said Jacek Jemielity, CEO of ExPLoRNA Therapeutics. "We aim at creating the best synergies between our cap analogs and novel polymerases to surpass current manufacturing process and what is achievable with mRNA today."

About Primrose Bio
Primrose Bio was established in 2023 from the merger of Primordial Genetics, Inc. and Ligand Pharmaceuticals' Pfenex Expression Technology^® platform and PeliCRM197^® carrier protein franchise. This combination brings together Primordial's Prima RNApols™ and Function Generator™ platforms to enhance the development and manufacturability of complex protein and nucleic acid-based products for human and animal health, vaccines, and industrial use. Top pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Serum Institute of India, and Alvogen, use these technologies in their approved products. Additional clients include Arcellx, Arcturus, and a host of other developers. For more details, visit www.primrosebio.com.

About ExPLoRNA Therapeutics:
ExPLoRNA Therapeutics is harnessing over 20 years of cap analog research to bring ground-breaking innovations into mRNA field. ExPLoRNA's lead product called AvantCap^® offers increase in translation efficiency, limits the amount of dsRNA formation and allows for optimization of IVT costs. ExPLoRNA delivers technology and its therapeutic platform to pharmaceutical Partners. To learn more, visit www.explorna.com.

SOURCE Primrose Bio