Benzinga | Jan 10, 2022 06:53AM EST

Codex DNA Signs Early Access Collaboration And Licensing Agreement With Pfizer To Further Develop Codex DNA's Novel Enzymatic DNA Synthesis Technology For Pfizer's Use In Its Research And Development Of mRNA-based Vaccines And Biotherapies

* Pfizer and Codex DNA agree to strategic, multiyear, early access research collaboration, leveraging Codex DNA's novel enzymatic DNA synthesis (EDS) technology

* Pfizer's successful development and commercialization of licensed products could result in milestone payments in excess of $100 million

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Codex DNA, Inc. (NASDAQ:DNAY), a leader in the development of automated solutions for on-demand synthesis of genes and mRNA, today announced a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with Pfizer to access and further develop Codex DNA's novel EDS technology for potential application by Pfizer for its mRNA-based vaccines and other biopharma products.

The financial terms of the deal include an upfront payment from Pfizer to Codex DNA, along with success-based technical milestone payments that could be earned in the near term. Codex DNA is also eligible to receive additional milestone payments based on the achievement of specified development, regulatory, and commercialization goals associated with any products developed from the application of Codex DNA's technology developed and licensed under the agreement.

Under this agreement, Pfizer gains early access to custom, state-of-the-art Codex DNA technology, including use of its proprietary short oligo ligation assembly (SOLA) EDS technology. SOLA EDS is a patent-pending, sustainable, scalable, and cost-effective research approach designed to significantly reduce timelines for constructing synthetic DNA, RNA, and protein, which could potentially lead to more efficient and effective research and development of mRNA-based vaccines, therapeutics, personalized medicines, and other biopharma products. SOLA EDS was designed to rapidly and efficiently synthesize high-fidelity, complex genes, which can potentially be used to test the antigenicity of synthesized infectious disease variants and efficiently produce mRNA vaccine candidates.

"We believe this strategic, early access collaboration and licensing arrangement is a validation of our cutting-edge SOLA enzymatic DNA synthesis technology and has the potential to accelerate vaccine and biotherapeutic research and development programs for the benefit of humanity," said Todd R. Nelson, PhD, CEO of Codex DNA.

Codex DNA's fully automated, benchtop synthetic biology solutions can accelerate timelines for vaccine development and biologic drug discovery. Its SOLA EDS technology will be integrated into future Codex DNA instrumentation, allowing customers to begin their experiments with digital DNA sequence data within an end-to-end solution for their life science and synthetic biology needs. The company will continue to offer its catalog of synthetic genomes, including SARS-CoV-2, for research use for discovering monoclonal antibody treatments, small-molecule therapies, diagnostic assays, and new vaccines against specific variants.