Wacker Biotech, a subsidiary of the Munich- based German chemical producer, has signed a license agreement with US biopharmaceutical company PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals to produce and antibody fragment known as PB2452.

The terms of the deal give PhaseBio the right to use both Wacker’s ESETEC-based production strain and its ESETEC technology to manufacture and commercialize the fragment. Wacker Biotech, which is based in Jena, Germany, will continue to optimize the production process for PhaseBio at its site in Amsterdam.

PB2452 acts as a reversal agent for ticagrelor, a drug used in treatment of patients with acute coronary syndrome or a history of myocardial infarction, to inhibit platelet aggregation.

Wacker’s technology is based on an E.coli strain that secretes the desired proteins into the culture broth in the correct folding conformation during fermentation. As secretion facilitates purification of the target protein, there is no longer a need for complicated process steps such as homogenization and refolding, the company said. This makes the entire manufacturing process significantly more efficient and cost-effective.

Susanne Leonhartsberger, managing director of Wacker Biotech, said the effectiveness of the technology was highlighted in the parent company’s collaboration with MedImmune, the global biologics R&D arm of AstraZeneca.  The antibody fragment, which demonstrated immediate and sustained reversal of the antiplatelet activity of ticagrelor in a clinical phase 1 trial, is now marketed by AstraZeneca under the trade names Brilique and Brilinta.

“Our license agreement with PhaseBio underscores the fact that our ESETEC platform is a key technology for making antibody fragments and developing successful biopharmaceuticals,” Leonhartsberger said.