Tromsø, Norway, May 28th, 2025 – ArcticZymes Technologies ASA (OSE: AZT), in collaboration with the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib), has extended their joint research partnership for another three years, focusing on delivering significantly enhanced purification methods for bionanoparticles (BNPs), critical for safer, more effective gene therapies, vaccines, and cancer treatments.
The ongoing phase of the project, which began in April 2024, demonstrated that focusing on the removal of chromatin rather than accessible forms of DNA, is essential for improved purification of bionanoparticles. This key insight, gained through the collaboration with acib, revealed that ArcticZymes’ M-SAN enzyme is significantly more effective at digesting chromatin than conventional nucleases. M-SAN also strongly performs under process-relevant, physiological salt conditions, which is a big advantage when producing sensitive BNPs such as lentiviral vectors. This advancement has enabled ArcticZymes to distinctly differentiate its SAN portfolio from competition and highlight their unique benefits to the bioprocessing community.
The extended collaboration will focus on proving the value of high-salt nuclease treatments, leveraging the enzymes from ArcticZymes’ SAN family. It will also develop improved methods for detecting and quantifying chromatin DNA since existing assays fail to do this accurately. These efforts aim to create more efficient, scalable, and cost-effective purification strategies for BNP-based therapeutics. The extended collaboration also underscores ArcticZymes’ ongoing commitment to innovation and practical solutions that meet customer needs.
This collaborative research continues to receive support from the COMET program, which has awarded an additional EUR 100,000 to advance biotechnology innovation through industry-academic partnerships. Moreover, the project includes the training of a PhD candidate, contributing to the future talent pool and ensuring continued advancement in bioprocessing technology and enzyme development.
Michael B. Akoh, CEO of ArcticZymes Technologies, commented:
“Collaborating with acib, one of the leading research groups in bioprocessing, is instrumental in showing precisely how our nucleases best address customer challenges. Together, we are enhancing biomanufacturing workflows for virus-like particles, enabling our clients to optimize their processes, improve efficiencies, and achieve more cost-effective and reliable outcomes.”
Dr. Mathias Drexler, CEO of acib, added:
“The partnership allows us to bridge fundamental research with real-world bioprocessing needs. Working with ArcticZymes gives us access to innovative enzymatic tools that perform under real production conditions. Their technology plays a key role in shaping more effective and scalable solutions for the biomanufacturing industry. Together, we are advancing purification strategies that are both, scientifically sound and industry-relevant.”
For more information, please contact:
ArcticZymes Technologies ASA
CEO, Michael B. Akoh
Tel: +46 (0) 70 262 37 15
ir@arcticzymes.com
About ArcticZymes Technologies ASA
ArcticZymes Technologies is a Norwegian life sciences company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of novel recombinant enzymes for use in molecular research, In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) and biomanufacturing.
Its headquarters are based in Tromsø, Norway, at the SIVA Science Park.
ArcticZymes Technologies’ IP and capabilities are protected via a large portfolio of patents.
For more information, please visit the website: www.arcticzymes.com
