UB is teaming up with technology development company First Wave Technologies, in an effort to revolutionize pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Researchers are attempting to develop a method for creating pharmaceutical compounds - such as the ones used to treat ovarian cancer, breast cancer or diabetes - more efficiently by using microorganisms like E. coli as miniature factories.
The goal is to take the genes from plants that make the compounds naturally, and implant the genes into E. coli. The E. coli would grow the compound as it multiples.
According to Mattheos Koffas, a professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, E. coli is used because its cells multiply at a high rate.
"E. Coli is the most commonly used microorganism," Koffas said. "We have the most information about it. We know how to manipulate it, and it grows fast."
Production speed is an important component of the research. Jack Daiss, technical director from First Wave Technologies, noted the drug Taxol, used for treating ovarian cancer.
According to Daiss, Taxol is extremely hard to make. Currently it is made from cells within the bark of Pacific Yew trees, found in California. The bark from six trees is needed to make enough Taxol for one patient.
"People have recognized this is an expensive, cumbersome procedure," Daiss said. "The next step would be to take the cells that make Taxol, put them in culture, and grow Taxol in a lab."
According to Daiss, it takes two to three days for the cells to multiply, tying up expensive equipment and increasing the risk of contamination.
This is where UB's research steps in. The cells from the Pacific Yew that make Taxol would be put into E. coli, and the E. coli would grow the drug.
While using E. coli to make Taxol has not yet been achieved, research continues. According to Koffas, professors from the Chemistry and Chemical and Biological Engineering departments are working together to explore potential uses for the compounds, such as diabetes treatment, and also its relation to protein engineering.
The process would not only be more efficient, but would also take pressure off the environment.
"There is no high energy requirement like there is with organic chemistry," Koffas said. "The environmental footprint is minimal."
The role of First Wave Technologies in the project is to bring the research from the university to the marketplace.
"Our aim is to work with university investigators to basically move inventions and merging ideas into the marketplace," Daiss said.
The company works with professors like Koffas so that they may meet their university demands while allowing technology created at UB to move into the market. The partnership also provides researchers with different viewpoints.
"They provide insight that I may not have; see things I may not see because of their experience and interaction with the market," Koffas said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
