FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical and Synplogen Enter Strategic Business Alliance Agreement on CDMO Services for mRNA therapeutics, to Provide Seamless End-to-End Services from mRNA Sequence Design to LNP Formulation and Fill/Finish

TOKYO/KOBE, April 16, 2024 - FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical Co., Ltd (President: Mitsuhiro Sato) and Synplogen Co., Ltd. (Representative Director, President and CEO: Kazuhiko Yamamoto), a biotech startup company spun out from Kobe University, announce their strategic business alliance on CDMO services for mRNA therapeutics. 

FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical has been providing one-stop shop CDMO services from mRNA synthesis to lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulation to meet the needs of pharmaceutical companies and biotech startup companies engaged in mRNA therapeutics. The strategic alliance with Synplogen expands its CDMO services to cover mRNA sequence design and synthesis of plasmid DNA, the starting material for mRNA production. This provides seamless end-to-end services from mRNA sequence design to LNP formulation and fill/finish, ensuring consistent support throughout the drug discovery and development process.

Synplogen, a pioneering synthetic biology startup company from Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University, was established in February 2017. Leveraging its proprietary DNA synthesis technology, OGAB^™ method and Combinatorial-OGAB^™ method, Synplogen is capable of synthesizing ultra-long and complex DNA and constructing DNA libraries with various combinations. Under this strategic alliance, Synplogen will provide mRNA sequence design and plasmid DNA synthesis services.

With the emerging applications of mRNA therapeutics to infectious disease vaccines, cancer vaccines, and genetic disease therapeutics, biotech companies are actively engaged in the discovery and development of mRNA therapeutics. As a result, the demands for contract manufacturing services have been growing. By integrating Synplogen’s expertise in mRNA sequence design and plasmid DNA synthesis with FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical's current CDMO services, the companies will maximize their customer value for the mRNA therapeutics industry. The strategic alliance between FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical and Synplogen will support the growth of the mRNA therapeutics market.

FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical, one of the core companies in the Fujifilm Group's healthcare segment, is committed to solving social issues through its pharmaceutical business. Leveraging over 40 years of expertise in anti-infective drugs, the company focuses on contract manufacturing as it is the only company capable of manufacturing sterile penicillin antibiotic products in Japan. In 2020, the company expanded its capabilities by introducing Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) services for liposomes and lipid nanoparticles. Through its parent company FUJIFILM Corporation, which holds patents on ionized lipids – a critical component of lipid nanoparticles, FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical is able to deliver proprietary lipids that have already been used as investigational drugs. The company further strengthened its offerings in 2023 with the introduction of CDMO services for of mRNA. With this strategic move, FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical plans to provide CDMO services for clinical trials and commercial production in the future.
For more information about FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical, visit https://www.fujifilm.com/fftc/en

Synplogen Co., Ltd. is a synthetic biology startup company founded in 2017 and originated from Kobe University. Utilizing its proprietary DNA synthesis technologies, "OGAB^™ method" and "Combinatorial-OGAB^™ method", the company is capable of synthesizing ultra-long and complex DNA and constructing DNA libraries with various combinations. We also provide one-stop solution services from design, development, analysis to technology transfer of high-quality, cost-effective viral vectors for gene therapy at our R&D Center in Kobe, as a biofoundry specializing in gene therapy.
For more information about Synplogen, visit https://www.synplogen.com

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