Curia expands biologics capabilities with access to Touchlight’s doggybone DNA

Curia collaborates with Touchlight to expand its mRNA manufacturing offering to enable access to enzymatic doggybone DNA (dbDNA™)

ALBANY, N.Y. and HAMPTON, United Kingdom, July 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Curia, a leading contract research, development and manufacturing organization, and Touchlight, a company pioneering enzymatic DNA production, today announced an agreement which will provide Curia and its clients a streamlined means of access to Touchlight’s doggybone DNA (dbDNA). The arrangement expands Curia’s mRNA manufacturing offerings with an additional differentiated source of DNA raw material that is immediately available to be accessed by Curia customers. Under the arrangement, Touchlight will directly manufacture dbDNA on behalf of Curia’s customers.

“Curia remains committed to strengthening our biologics offerings and end-to-end mRNA manufacturing capabilities,” said Christopher Conway, President of R&D, Curia. “With the addition of enzymatic DNA through our partnership with Touchlight, our customers will have a critical advantage in terms of scalability and speed to market.”

Touchlight’s dbDNA is a linear, double-stranded, covalently-closed DNA vector. DNA serves as the template for making mRNA therapies. Through a simple enzymatic process called in vitro transcription, genetic information is copied from DNA to mRNA. This mRNA is then able to teach the cells to make precise proteins that are used to treat or prevent diseases. Touchlight’s enzymatic DNA is produced with a cell-free enzymatic process that offers unmatched benefits in speed, quality and capacity when compared to traditional plasmid DNA production.

Karen Fallen, CEO, Touchlight commented: “We are delighted to work with Curia in order to further expand access to dbDNA as a critical starting material. Working in parallel with fellow CDMOs is a key component of our focus upon enabling broad market access to dbDNA. Curia is building a comprehensive mRNA solution, and this arrangement enables both companies to extend their offering to a wider audience.”

Touchlight’s dbDNA is a novel solution that is widely applicable and versatile, advancing Curia’s mRNA manufacturing capabilities as a complement to its bioprocessing-grade plasmid offering.

About Curia

Curia is a leading contract research, development, and manufacturing organization providing products and services from R&D through commercial manufacturing to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers. Curia’s nearly 4,000 employees at 29 locations across the U.S., Europe, and Asia help its customers advance from curiosity to cure. Learn more at CuriaGlobal.com.

About Touchlight

Touchlight is a privately-owned CDMO based in London, U.K., focused on providing DNA services and manufacturing enzymatically produced doggybone DNA (dbDNA™) to enable the development of genetic medicines. Touchlight provides rapid, enzymatic DNA development and manufacturing for all advanced therapy production, including mRNA, viral and non-viral gene therapy, and DNA API. dbDNA is a minimal, linear, covalently closed structure, which eliminates bacterial sequences. Touchlight’s revolutionary enzymatic production platform enables unprecedented speed, scale, and the ability to target genes with a size and complexity that is impossible with current technologies. Clients can be supported from pre-clinical through development and supply to licensing and tech transfer for use in-house.

Curia Contact Information:
Viana Bhagan
+1 518 512 2111
corporatecommunications@CuriaGlobal.com

Touchlight contact information:

Karen Fallen, Chief Executive Officer
Robin Bodicoat, Head of Marketing
E: info@touchlight.com
T: +44 20 8481 9200