Benzinga | Nov 29, 2021 08:14AM EST

Codex DNA Announces Commercial Availability Of Automated mRNA Synthesis Kit With Integrated Capping Technology For BioXp System

Codex DNA, Inc. (NASDAQ:DNAY), a pioneer in automated benchtop synthetic biology systems, today announced the commercial launch of its BioXp(tm) mRNA synthesis kits with CleanCap(r) Reagent AG, a proprietary mRNA capping technology from TriLink BioTechnologies, part of Maravai LifeSciences (NASDAQ:MRVI). These new automation kits will allow users to generate large yields of high-quality, capped mRNA to accelerate the discovery and development of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of efficiently building robust, reliable mRNA-based vaccines and therapies. Existing manual, multi-step mRNA synthesis processes often result in long turnaround timelines and cause significant bottlenecks during the design-build-test phases of discovery and development, despite the need for rapid iterations of mRNA constructs.

"We have demonstrated that our industry-leading mRNA capping technology works seamlessly within Codex DNA's mRNA synthesis kit," said Jeff Whitmore, Vice President of Commercial Operations at TriLink BioTechnologies. "The combination of our CleanCap technology with the fully automated, benchtop BioXp system will empower scientists to drive efficiency in the discovery and development of mRNA-based interventions."

BioXp kits with integrated CleanCap Reagent AG are designed to increase the productivity and efficiency of mRNA synthesis workflows. Codex DNA customers are now able to generate up to 16 biologically active mRNA constructs at a median yield of 10 micrograms each from fully de novo synthesized and error-corrected genes in a single automated run. The increased proportion of translationally active mRNA simplifies and shortens the mRNA manufacturing process, resulting in higher levels of protein production.

Todd R. Nelson, PhD, CEO of Codex DNA, commented: "Our commitment to automated, high-quality mRNA synthesis has significantly reduced the time required to produce these critical components for candidate vaccines and therapeutics. We believe the addition of CleanCap technology to our kits will continue to accelerate the discovery process and help scientists get much-needed new treatments to market faster."