Biopharmaceutical proteins
School of Biosciences: Professor Robert Freedman, Professor Mick Tuite
The use of pharmaceutical drugs produced in living cells has been steadily rising, with many of the most common biopharmaceuticals being proteins. Research to improve the production and secretion of these protein drugs by cells has become a crucial part of drug discovery and development.
The patented technology developed by Kent’s Robert Freedman and Mick Tuite, in collaboration with the US pharmaceutical company Merck, can produce increases in the levels and authenticity of a range of high-value, secretory proteins. Several major pharmaceutical companies, including Novozymes and Pfizer, are using the technology to help develop and produce drugs for treating a wide range of human diseases, such as type 2 diabetes.
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