New Advances in Antibody Drug Conjugate Development and Complex Cell Line Expression to be Presented by Catalent Experts at Upcoming PEGS Conference in Boston
Somerset, N.J. (PRWEB) April 21, 2016 -- Catalent Pharma Solutions, the leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies and development solutions for drugs, biologics, consumer health and animal health products, today announced that Dr. David Rabuka, Global Head of R&D, Chemical Biology, and Dr. Gregory T Bleck, Global Head of R&D, Biologics, will be participating at the upcoming Protein and Antibody Engineering Summit (PEGS), to be held at the Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, MA, on April 25th – 29th, 2016.
On Wednesday, April 27th, at 3.15 p.m., Dr. Rabuka will be presenting “Developing Site-Specifically Modified ADCs Using a Chemoenzymatic Approach,” and will discuss the development of Catalent’s SMARTag™ bioconjugation platform. This technology enables precise, programmable, site-selective chemical protein modification using the target sequence of formylglycine generating enzyme (FGE), which chemoenzymatically modifies proteins to generate a precisely placed aldehyde functionality that can be chemically elaborated. The technology also includes the novel Hydrazino-Pictet-Spengler (HIPS™) conjugation chemistry for development of conjugates with enhanced stability and novel linker chemistries that can optimize the payload efficacy.
On the same day, at 4.45 p.m., Dr. Bleck will moderate a roundtable session entitled “Expression of Complex Proteins in Mammalian Cells,” which will discuss the increasing number of complex proteins in development, including virus-like particle vaccines, proteins that require additional post-translational modification, and various multi-specific antibody platforms. Each of these proteins has its own challenges, including the production of multi-subunit molecules, or processing of proteins in the correct proportions to obtain maximum titer and biopharmaceutical quality. The session will explore these challenges and will address techniques to overcome them.
Dr. Rabuka assumed the role of Catalent Pharma Solutions’ Global Head of R&D Chemical Biology in October 2014, following Catalent’s acquisition of Redwood Bioscience Inc., where he had previously acted as President and Chief Scientific Officer. He received a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, as a Chevron Fellow in the lab of Professor Carolyn Bertozzi. His research included developing and applying Redwood’s platform technology to cell surface modifications. Prior to joining Professor Bertozzi’s lab, Dr. Rabuka worked at the Burnham Institute, synthesizing complex glycans, followed by Optimer Pharmaceuticals, where he was an early employee, focused on the development of glycan and macrolide based antibiotics. He graduated with a double honors B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Saskatchewan where he received the Dean’s Science Award and holds an M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Alberta. Dr. Rabuka has authored more than 30 major publications, as well as numerous book chapters and patents.
Dr. Bleck joined Catalent in 1998 as Director of Molecular Biology & Transgenics, before becoming Global Head of R&D, Biologics, in 2013. Dr. Bleck holds a Bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science and a Doctorate in Endocrinology-Reproductive Physiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He performed postdoctoral work at the University of Illinois-Urbana working in the areas of gene regulation and expression. Dr. Bleck has published more than 55 research papers and co-authored chapters in three books.
For more information on the Protein and Antibody Engineering Summit, visit: http://www.pegsummit.com and to arrange a meeting with the attending Catalent executives, contact Richard Kerns at NEPR- richard(at)nepr(dot)eu.
About Catalent
Catalent is the leading global provider of advanced delivery technologies and development solutions for drugs, biologics and consumer health and animal health products. With over 80 years serving the industry, Catalent has proven expertise in bringing more customer products to market faster, enhancing product performance and ensuring reliable clinical and commercial product supply. Catalent employs approximately 8,700 people, including over 1,000 scientists, at 31 facilities across 5 continents, and in fiscal 2015 generated more than $1.8 billion in annual revenue. Catalent is headquartered in Somerset, N.J. For more information, visit http://www.catalent.com
More products. Better treatments. Reliably supplied.™
Chris Halling, Catalent Pharma Solutions, http://www.catalent.com, +44 7580041073, [email protected]
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