Professor George Lomonossoff and Dr Frank Sainsbury, at the John Innes Centre (JIC), discovered a new way to use individual plants to produce new high value products, including therapeutic drugs and vaccines.
The technology is already being used in Canada and the US, where licensee Medicago Inc is using plants for the rapid production of vaccines against influenza for clinical trials.
Now the John Innes Centre has partnered with its main strategic funder the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Plant Bioscience Ltd and Norwich Research Partners LLP to bring the use of the technology closer to home.
A new company – Leaf Systems® – has been established and planning permission is being sought from South Norfolk Council to build a new facility on the Norwich Research Park (NRP). The new building, to be constructed by Norwich Research Partners LLP, will comprise state of the art plant-growing areas and development laboratories, while the presence of the new company on the Norwich Research Park is already attracting interest from biotechnology companies which could use its services.
For Professor Lomonossoff, the development represents an important milestone in his research career: “To see the results of an invention from my lab being translated into a facility to produce medically important materials is a dream come true for me.” The
Hypertrans technology can be used to produce desired proteins in plants. The proteins can then be extracted through crushing the leaf and purifying the product.
Professor Lomonossoff won “Most Promising Innovator” and the overall “Innovator of the Year” prize at the 2012 national BBSRC Innovator of the Year Awards, for his work with Dr Frank Sainsbury – then a PhD student in Professor Lomonossoff’s lab – on the development of this system for the rapid production of vaccines and pharmaceutical proteins in plants.
Hypertrans® differs from current methods of producing similar materials for development, which rely on yeast cultures, bacteria and animal tissue. Professor Lomonossoff’s technology is faster than existing commercial processes. The new facility in Norwich would provide services to companies and research organisations by producing quantities of proteins and other natural products for research and development purposes.
The planning application submitted to South Norfolk Council by Norwich Research Partners LLP is part of the overall Norwich Research Park Development.