Ardena and RiboPro ink RNA deal

Ardena will combine its lipid nanoparticles formulations with RibPro’s mRNA tech to improve accessibility of RNA-based treatments.

Under the terms of the deal, of which financials have not been divulged, contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Ardena has partnered with Dutch messenger RNA (mRNA) firm RiboPro to address “a crucial skills gap in the industry.”  

In addition to RiboPro’s portfolio of mRNA-related technologies, they will also provide experience in mRNA synthesis and encapsulation. In turn, both parties said the partnership will create solutions for mRNA and lipid nanoparticles (LNP) manufacturing and allow drug developers to advance quicker with significantly lower scaling and production risk.  

DepositPhotos/adriaticphoto

“The mRNA field is very new, and many biopharma and biotech companies do not (yet) have the skills to develop these highly complex nanomedicines completely in-house, especially with a clear strategy towards regulatory approval,” a spokesperson for Ardena told BioProcess Insider. 

“The majority of CDMOs in this field, which are now being relied upon, do not have the complete end-to-end capabilities that this alliance has, and it is the transition from one specialty to another where critical issues may arise.” 

There is not a time limit set to the partnership and the spokesperson said it will “continue for as long as it adds value to the customers.” Furthermore, it is possible the joint offering “may evolve over time with market needs.” 

Ardena and RiboPro have facilities located next to each other at Pivot Park campus in Oss, The Netherlands. This will enable each company to complete the activities in their own facility.  

“The magic lies in the way the transfers and final delivery are organized with project-owners of each company involved. Although proprietary information is shared for the purpose of delivering a high-quality end product, no formal tech transfer is needed,” said the spokesperson.  

RiboPro technology  

The mRNA and LNP technologies include RiboStealth, which eliminates and decreases pro-inflammatory motifs from the mRNA sequence “without changing the resulting translated protein and without the use of chemical modifications.  

The firm also has RiboPerform technology that increases translation and RiboStable LNP formulations, which makes it “easier to target to specific organs and have a superior safety profile,” the spokesperson told us.  

“Beyond these technologies, RiboPro is developing its proprietary manufacturing platform, including a machine capable of producing in a seamless scalable manner 1mg-1kg of mRNA drug substance or drug product per 24 hours, with up to 100x gain in manufacturing efficiency.”