OXGENE™ and The Native Antigen Company (NAC) today announced a collaboration to accelerate production of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) reagents by combining OXGENE’s proprietary Adenoviral Protein Machine technology with NAC’s antigen development expertise. Together, OXGENE™ and NAC will develop high purity proteins at scale for the urgently-needed development of diagnostics and vaccines.

OXGENE™ and The Native Antigen Company are developing an improved, scalable approach to SARS-CoV-2 reagent manufacture. OXGENE’s Protein Machine technology allows for the scalable production of viral proteins in mammalian cells using their proprietary adenoviral expression vector. Through genetic modification, the adenovirus is ‘tricked’ into making SARS-CoV-2 proteins rather than its own, thus harnessing the innate power of viral protein production. Read more.

Dr Andy Lane, Commercial Director, The Native Antigen Company, said: “We are committed to developing the highest-quality reagents in rapid response to emerging epidemic diseases. Since the start of the crisis, the demand for our COVID-19 antigens has increased significantly, and by scaling up production of these vital reagents in collaboration with OXGENE, we hope to be able to support more researchers in their critical work developing diagnostics and vaccines.”