MIPS Project Detail:
Company
Company Description:
Fyodor Biotechnologies is a privately held, socially responsible company focused on the research, development and manufacture of innovative diagnostic and biopharmaceutical products, first targeted to large emerging economies in Africa, Asia and South America. The company’s flagship product, the Urine Malaria Test (UMT), is the first and only non-blood test that tells if a fever is due to malaria, using just a few drops of urine.
MIPS Project
Yeast-based Artemisinin (YAT) Production
Project #
4426.26
|
MIPS Round
46
|
Starting Date:
Aug 2010
MIPS Project Challenge:
Artemisinin (ART) is the most effective drug against malaria, which affects about 247 million people annually worldwide. Recently, additional uses were discovered, including for the treatment of various types of cancers and hepatitis C, and as a broad antiviral agent. Thus, an even greater demand for ART is envisaged in the near future. Presently, the drug is extracted from plants, which have long growing seasons and relatively low crop yields, often resulting in shortages. Fyodor’s recombinant yeast can perform de novo synthesis of ART intermediates—dihydroartemisinic acid (DHA) and artemisinic acid, through the co-expression of key pathway genes from three episomal plasmids. Using these new methods assures a reliable source of ART.
The goal of the project was to optimize the metabolic engineering of the late precursor of ART—DHA, which can be non-enzymatically converted to ART using activated oxygen.
Project Scope:
Through this MIPS project, researchers planned to perform process optimization of the yeast strain under controlled conditions, in order to determine the best titer of DHA and set benchmarks for further improvements. They also planned to implement metabolic engineering studies to further optimize DHA production
Results:
Fyodor reported five presentations or peer-reviewed journal publications resulting from this MIPS project. Seven students were involved.
In June, 2011, Fyodor was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant for $150,000 to progress the development of its innovative Urine Malaria Test (UMT) technology. In August, 2012, the company received another Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant for $150,000 to develop a novel recombinant antibody to be used in a urine-based test for the point-of-need detection of Leptospirosis.
In October, 2012, Fyodor was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 grant for $476,000 to support the company’s effort to develop and validate a broad-based, non-invasive, single-step Urine Malaria Test (UMT Broad) for the clinical diagnosis of both Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) and P. vivax (Pv) malaria, which together account for over 98% of all malaria cases worldwide.
In September, 2013, Fyodor received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 grant for $729,000 funding to accelerate the company’s effort to develop and validate a non-invasive, multi-disease, urine-based diagnostic test for Acute Febrile Illness (AFI), enabling the differential clinical diagnosis of leading global health diseases like malaria, typhoid, dengue, and leptospirosis from a single urine specimen in patients with fever.
Principal Investigator:
Ganesh
Sriram
Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Project Manager:
Edwin
Agbo
Chairman, CEO and Founder
Technologies:
Biotechnology / Genetic Engineering
