From university spin-off to global corporation
A look back at an extraordinary success story that began at the University of Regensburg
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The company Geneart was one of the first spin-offs from the University of Regensburg to move into BioPark Regensburg 25 years ago. It is a pioneer in the production of synthetic genes and is now part of the US technology company Thermo Fisher Scientific. A look back at an extraordinary success story at the Regensburg site that is still alive today.
BioPark Regensburg GmbH was launched in 1999 on the grounds of the University of Regensburg. At that time, the production of an artificial gene still took more than half a year. This was too long for the then head of the research group, Professor Ralf Wagner at the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene at the University of Regensburg, for his research into an HIV vaccine and so he took on this topic himself. Using specially developed software and adapted equipment, he and his colleagues developed a pioneering business idea for the automated production of artificial genes.
Geneart produces genes in just a few days
"The young company Geneart (the art of genes) has been a meteoric success story with the support of the BioPark, the Free State of Bavaria and the Federal Government (BMBF)," explains BioPark Managing Director Dr. Thomas Diefenthal. In 2006, the company was one of the few German biotech companies to go public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and was initially taken over by "life technologies" in 2010 and Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2014. Today, genes are produced at the Regensburg site within just a few days. Whereas previously only a handful could be produced each year, today thousands of genes can be produced in parallel and shipped worldwide. This development has been made possible by considerable investment in recent decades - particularly in IT-supported processes, miniaturization, automation and innovative technologies. One example of this is the fully automated, microchip-based oligonucleotide synthesis, which sets new standards in efficiency and scalability. In addition, Thermo Fisher Scientific Geneart has expanded into new business areas. In addition to the high-quality production of genes and plasmids, the company has also been offering protein production as part of its "gene-to-protein" service for more than ten years. This involves using the synthesized DNA directly for expression in mammalian cells. This service is used worldwide, particularly by customers in the biopharmaceutical industry, especially in the field of antibody research, where it contributes significantly to new scientific breakthroughs.
GeneOptimizerTM algorithm "translates" the language of genes
A central element of protein expression is one of the key innovations from the founding period of Geneart: the GeneOptimizerTM algorithm. This is because the genes of humans, animals and plants speak the same language, but with different dialects. Depending on where they are used, they have to be translated in order to function optimally. This algorithm is available to all gene synthesis customers free of charge. Regular comparative tests show that the optimized language selection (codon) leads to significantly higher protein expression - compared to methods from competitors in the USA and China that do not produce in Europe.
The Regensburg-based company currently employs over 300 people in a total of over 7,000 m2 of laboratory and office space in the BioPark and Regensburg Business Park. Genes "Made in Regensburg" are now standard worldwide and an integral part of the global biotechnology scene.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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