Codon Devices Delivers 35kb Genetic Construct to Microbia for Improved Cell Line Performance
Company delivers long synthetic construct in record time
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Codon Devices, the leader in the emerging field of Constructive Biology(TM), announced today the successful construction and delivery of a sequence-verified, 35-kilobase genetic construct for Microbia's Precision Engineering business unit. The genetic construct is an 80% synthetic gene cluster containing a biosynthetic pathway engineered to optimize production of an active pharmaceutical ingredient.
To date, production of synthetic genetic constructs greater than 10 kilo-bases have been uncommon and typically require very long turnaround times. Codon Devices used proprietary design methodologies and its patent-protected BioFAB(TM) platform to complete the design, construction and sequence verification of this 35kb construct in seventy-five working days. This shipment represents the longest synthetic construct ever delivered within such timeframes.
Brian M. Baynes, Chief Scientific Officer and Founder of Codon Devices, said, "This achievement is a testament to the scalability of our BioFAB(TM) platform and to the ingenuity of our team. We will continue to drive down cost, compress turnaround time, and increase the length and complexity of our commercial offerings."
John P. Danner, President and CEO of Codon Devices, said, "We were pleased to make such a significant delivery to an innovative customer like Microbia. Codon Devices' expanding capabilities are extending the reach of our Constructive Biology(TM) technology and providing an entirely new approach to cellular engineering applications."
About Codon Devices
Codon Devices, based in Cambridge, MA, is a privately-held biotechnology company focused on enabling commercial applications of synthetic biology. Codon Devices' proprietary synthesis and design technologies improve the productivity, throughput and flexibility of its industrial, pharmaceutical and academic customers in a paradigm shift to what the company calls Constructive Biology(TM). The company's focus is on developing and delivering high-value products and design services in a variety of application areas, including engineered gene libraries, engineered cells that produce novel pharmaceuticals, improved vaccines, agricultural products, and biorefineries for the production of industrial chemicals and energy. Codon Devices' BioFAB(TM) platform uses sophisticated informatics, robotics and sequencing technologies to accurately synthesize genetic codes orders of magnitude more rapidly and cost-effectively than other currently available technology. Codon Devices is currently scaling the platform to design and construct engineered genetic devices hundreds of kilobases to megabases in length.
Founded in 2004 within Flagship Ventures, Codon Devices commenced laboratory operations in March 2005. The company announced a Series A financing round of $13 million in June 2005 and achieved first revenues in November 2005. Investors include Alloy Ventures, Flagship Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. Codon Devices' scientific founders include Scientific Advisory Board Chairman George Church, Harvard Medical School; Drew Endy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Joseph Jacobson, MIT Media Lab; and Jay Keasling, University of California, Berkeley.