Alpha Teknova and Sartorius BIA Separations agreed to collaborate to help gene therapy companies streamline the downstream purification process. Teknova produces reagents for the research, discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapies, vaccines, and molecular diagnostics. Sartorius BIA Separations develops monolith-based technologies for the separation and analysis of large biomolecules and viral particles.
Officials at both companies point out that the collaboration highlights two essential components necessary for the successful recovery of empty and full AAV capsids during anion-exchange (AEX) purification: the separation technology and the buffer composition.
With Sartorius BIA Separations’ proprietary AAV platform designed to optimize the separation of viral particles, and Teknova’s custom buffer solutions developed to maximize capsid enrichment, the companies conducted a robust design of experiment (DOE) and successfully created a screening kit with optimized buffer formulations that drive consistency and increased purity when paired with the BIA CIMmultus® pre-packed chromatographic monolithic columns, according to Stephen Gunstream, president and CEO of Teknova.
Focusing on development of new tools
“We’re thrilled to find a like-minded partner with Sartorius BIA Separations, a well-respected, global leader in monolith-based technologies who shares our vision of making solutions possible,” he said. “Through our collaboration, we’re finding new tools to help our customers streamline the development of AAV therapies by optimizing their purification process and increasing the yield and purity of their AAV product.”
“Teknova is the perfect partner for us as we explore robust, end-to-end solutions for our gene therapy customers seeking to achieve better results in the separation and analysis of viral particles,” added Aleš Štrancar, managing director at Sartorius BIA Separations. “Based on their ability to quickly manufacture high-quality, custom buffers that are consistent from batch to batch, we’ve been able to reliably reproduce results and confidently target the discreet differences in empty and full AAV particles.”
Gene therapy companies focusing on AAV will be able to get all the required consumables and a protocol that will streamline and accelerate the downstream processing workflow, enabling them to discover novel breakthroughs faster, maintains Štrancar, noting that Teknova and Sartorius BIA Separations intend to continue developing data demonstrating improvements in AAV purification when using their combined methods.
