A first period (2021-24) is devoted to prototyping. Our biological goals are to improve the percentage of recombinant proteins in our strains (% TSP), develop our vectoring tools and demonstrate the concept of our targets with in-vitro validation.

As proof of concept, we focus on three therapeutic areas: anti-microbial and anti-viral peptides; antigenic vaccines; recombinant immunotoxins ('RITs'), called "hostile" proteins because of the difficulty of producing these toxic compounds in conventional cellular systems (which is much easier in plant cells).

For oral, mucosal or topical medications, our Research and Innovation program will move the vectoring of active ingredients in the microalgal cell from the concepts to an industrial stage, relying on academic and private partners.

We implement:  

1- USP production in fermenters or photobioreactors, or in combination with the two techniques depending on the strain, collaborating with OEMs to adapt their best tools to our pharmaceutical quality requirements.

2- a DSP treatment that allows effective vectoring of our targets, with attention to "active delivery" and "controlled release".

We will be producing biotherapeutics samples as early as 2023 in our ISO-certified lab that respects Good Laboratory Practices. The entire process will increase production from a few milligrams to ten grams (screening and feasibility samples, then batches for toxicological and pharmacological studies).

After prototyping, a second period (2025-28) will see a GMP-compliant demonstrator (under Good Manufacturing Practices) produce tens of grams of recombinant protein (in TRL 7, for preclinical and toxicological tests), and then hundreds of grams (in TRL 8, for clinical trials).

The first ISO R&I site will be maintained for the development and extension of biodrug vectoring, as well as for the optimization of microalgae cell lines.

After the demonstration period, our 'technological ensemble' will be the basis for a large commercial plant, whose bioproduction can be extended to monoclonal antibodies and other biological products, because:

• microalgae are more easily compliant than higher plants to strict regulations for the production of biotherapeuticals, favoring the take-off of the microalgae-based biodrug market.
• at the kilogram level, the cost of producing cell-vectored products is targeted at around 10 €/g, a substantial reduction compared to traditional technologies, a reduction caused upstream by the nature of cell culture medium and downstream by the simplification of the processing.

TRL 9: full commercial application