DNA Script has announced a partnership with Moderna to develop a prototype for rapid mobile manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Nucleic Acids On-Demand World-Wide (NOW) programme.
The partnership will employ DNA Script's enzymatic synthesis platform to generate nucleic acids without the use of chemical solvents to power Moderna's manufacturing technology for the production of messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines. As part of the agreement, DNA Script will receive up to $5 m in grant funding from DARPA.
The initiative aims to develop a mobile manufacturing platform which quickly diagnoses pathogen threats and provides medical countermeasures to deliver pandemic prevention treatments. The resulting GMP quality nucleic acid (including mRNA) vaccines and therapeutics are intended to deliver near-instantaneous protection. The design envisions a manufacturing unit capable of producing hundreds of doses of medicines in a matter of days in a 1.8 x 1.8 x 1.8 m container, deployable to remote locations around the world.
"We are thrilled to collaborate with Moderna and DARPA on this important initiative to create an innovative biotechnological approach to rapidly detect, characterise and mitigate threats from newly emerging or engineered pathogens," said Thomas Ybert, CEO of DNA Script. "We believe that our fast, efficient and intuitive SYNTAX™? nucleic acid printer, underpinned by our proprietary Enzymatic DNA Synthesis technology, has the potential to help prevent future pandemics. We're proud to have been selected by both partners receiving awards under this DARPA NOW initiative."
