The
market for pharmaceuticals that mimic the body's own proteins -- protein-based
therapeutics -- is exploding. Some of them are relatively simple to manufacture
in yeast-based cell factories. Insulin and HPV vaccine are two examples that
are already under production, but other therapies, such as antibodies to
various forms of cancer, are significantly more difficult to manufacture.
In
collaboration with Associate Professor Dina Petrovic and Mathias Uhlén's
research team at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Jens Nielsen
has been mapping out the complex metabolism of yeast cells for four years.
"We've
been studying the metabolism of a yeast that we already know is a good protein
producer. And we found the mechanisms that can be used to make the process even
more efficient. The next step is to prove that we can actually produce
antibodies in such quantities that costs are reduced."
The
discussion has mainly been about cancer, but there are many other diseases, for
example Alzheimer's, diabetes and MS, that could potentially be treated by
yeast-based protein therapies. How distant a future are we talking about?
"Our
part of the process is fast, but pharmaceuticals always take a long time to
develop. It could be a possibility in five years, but should absolutely be on
the market in ten," Nielsen says.
He
adds: “"Yeast is a superb modelling system. Almost everything in yeast is
also found in humans. We have complete computer models of the metabolism of
yeast, and we use the same type of models to study human metabolism.”
See:
Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle