BIO 2024: Enzene to Announce Drug Discovery Division

On May 30, 2024, Enzene Biosciences, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), announced it is launching its Drug Discovery Division at the BIO 2024 International Convention, happening from June 3–6 in San Diego, Cali. The new division will expand the CDMO’s services to the biotech industry. It will also complement the company’s EnzeneX-equipped biologics manufacturing facility that is expected to open in summer 2024 in New Jersey.

The new division will be located at the company’s Pune, India, facility and have a state-of-the-art discovery laboratory. Services provided will feature end-to-end integrated discovery services, including antibody target validation, discovery, and engineering; reagent production ranging from custom peptides and proteins to advanced modalities such as plasmids; RNA and exosomes; and multi-platforms assays services.

The $50 million New Jersey facility, which was announced in June 2023, is expected to open in July 2024 and will be Enzene’s first site in the United States with a fully connected continuous manufacturing platform, according to the company. Capacity is available for the production of complex proteins with standard modalities via bothChinese hamster ovaryand mammalian cell lines.

“There is a global shortage of biology services, and our clients are increasingly looking to collaborate with us much earlier in the discovery phase to expedite their progress to IND [investigational new drug application] and beyond. We anticipate even greater demand for these services in the coming year as the resurgence in biotech funding leads to more targets entering discovery—with contract R&D empowering them to advance more targets simultaneously. For our big pharma partners, in addition to running the integrated programs, we provide the flexibility to easily outsource non-core activities. In particular, we have seen strong demand for high quality reagents and assay services that play a crucial role across drug discovery and development,” commented Himanshu Gadgil, CEO of Enzene Biosciences, in a company press release (1).

The New Jersey facility was announced in June of 2023 by Choose New Jersey, a nonprofit economic development organization for the state of New Jersey.

“The strong relationship between New Jersey and India has gained increasing momentum since we opened the New Jersey India Center to cultivate economic opportunities during our trip to the country in 2019,” said NJ Governor Phil Murphy, in a press release (2). “I am proud to welcome Enzene Biosciences and their expanding global presence to New Jersey’s flourishing life sciences industry. New Jersey’s favorable business environment, skilled workforce, strategic location, supportive ecosystem for growth, and deep cultural ties are why Indian companies thrive in our state.”

In a January 2024 press release (3), Himanshu Gadgil, CEO, Enzene Biosciences, stated, “While the [US] is home to most of the novel molecules that are the principle ingredients in creating many life-saving drugs, most of them have been developed by small biotech firms and start-ups that struggle to find clinical-phase capacity. Recognizing this gap and driven by our fundamental mission of creating access equity across the global healthcare ecosystem, Enzene Inc. has been launched in the US to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant to cater to small and mid-sized biotech companies. We have successfully identified, leased, and set up our first manufacturing facility in the [US] in record time. We remain confident that our proprietary EnzeneX technology platform and proven track record in achieving cost-effective biologics manufacturing will see us emerge as a partner of choice for biotech companies as we support them in bringing promising molecules to market.”

References

1. Enzene Biosciences. Enzene Launches Discovery Services Division at BIO 2024. Press Release. May 30, 2024.
2. Choose New Jersey. Enzene Biosciences Expanding to New Jersey with $50M Investment in Bio Manufacturing Plant. Press Release. June 15, 2023. https://www.choosenj.com/news/enzene-expanding-to-new-jersey/
3. Enzene Biosciences. Enzene Biosciences Launches Its First Manufacturing Base in the US. Press Release. Jan. 8, 2024.