Touchlight, a CDMO at the forefront of enzymatic DNA production for genetic medicine, has announced a license agreement with GSK, a global biopharmaceutical innovator. This agreement grants GSK non-exclusive rights to utilize Touchlight’s proprietary enzymatic dbDNA™ (doggybone DNA™) technology in the development and production of mRNA-based products.

This license enables GSK to leverage Touchlight's leading technology for rapid and scalable GMP DNA production, potentially accelerating the creation of multivalent mRNA vaccines, including those targeting seasonal epidemics and pandemic threats. Although the financial terms remain undisclosed, the deal includes an upfront payment, ongoing technology access fees, clinical and regulatory milestone payments, and royalties on GSK’s mRNA products made using Touchlight’s enzymatic dbDNA.

Touchlight’s dbDNA technology uses an enzymatic process to produce high-purity GMP DNA, offering a faster and more scalable alternative to traditional plasmid DNA production. dbDNA is particularly advantageous for mRNA vaccine development, as it enables the rapid and efficient production of DNA templates needed for mRNA synthesis.

In 2023, Touchlight launched its state-of-the-art multi-kg production facility and now supports numerous client products utilizing dbDNA for clinical development, including three with accepted IND/CTAs. Besides being used as a critical starting material for mRNA production and in AAV products, dbDNA is set to enter clinical development later in 2024 as an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient for a therapeutic cancer vaccine, along with multiple other anticipated INDs across various modalities.

Jonny Ohlson, Executive Chair and Founder of Touchlight, shared his thoughts on the partnership: “GSK is a global leader in vaccination, and we are delighted they have licensed our proprietary enzymatic dbDNA™ technology for the development and production of their mRNA-based products. The adoption of Touchlight’s enzymatic DNA is gathering pace and becoming an important part of the advanced therapy supply chain. Our technology delivers the speed, scalability and high-quality DNA products that are essential for the next generation of mRNA therapeutics”.

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