The technology overcomes many of the problems associated with the production of N-linked glycoproteins derived from humans and other mammals.

Using a transferase gene isolated from yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), a process has been developed for efficiently producing an acidic sugar chain in large quantities and high purity. The yeast cells are genetically-engineered with an MNN6-containing plasmid DNA. Its nucleotide sequence is a single-strand, having linear topology, and 1,380 base pairs in length.

Intellectual Property
Current U.S. patents granted that protect the technology include:

The inventors have isolated and determined the structure of the mannose-1-phosphate transferase gene (MNN6). MNN6 is involved in the mannose-1-phosphate addition reaction that is a yeast-specific sugar chain reaction. The gene can be used to produce acidic sugar chains, either in vivo or in vitro.

This technology was developed at AIST, Japan’s premier, public research organization.

With research facilities and more than 3,200 employees across Japan, AIST is an organization that comprises 15 research institutes previously under the former Agency of Industrial Science and Technology in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Weights and Measures Training Institute.

AIST is seeking to license these technologies and assist with their commercialization. A number of investment options are currently under consideration.