(“Navigo”), a premier protein engineering company and developer of affinity ligands for custom chromatography solutions, today announces successful development of a Precision Capturing® affinity resin for the capture of Ferritin. This primarily intracellular protein is released into the blood stream in small amounts where it acts as an iron carrier. PreviPharma, a company focusing on the therapeutic potential of plasma derived proteins used in novel therapeutics, identified Ferritin as a protein of interest.

Due to the very low naturally occurring quantities of Ferritin in fractionated blood plasma it is a challenge to make it a viable source for therapeutic development. Currently, Ferritin ends up as part of the waste of the blood fractionation industry.

Only around 16 out of approximately 10.000 proteins available in plasma have been developed for therapeutic use so far, in part due to unviable purification processes or identification of therapeutic uses. The new affinity chromatography option now efficiently captures even trace elements of Ferritin from those waste fractions opening up exciting development opportunities for the iron carrier protein and outlining a clear path for the accessibility of other plasma proteins for commercial development in the future.

Florian Settele, Head of Business Unit Precision Capturing said: “The Precision Capturing® technology has once again proven its capabilities in the field of protein purification. Affinity allows for the economic purification of even highly diluted targets of interest and facilitates new possibilities for protein therapeutics from recombinant as well as non-recombinant sources. We are delighted to provide this solution to PreviPharma who pushes forward the field of protein therapeutics and strive to innovate, especially, for patients with an unmet medical need.”

Tina Berger, Senior Scientist and Project Manager said: “PreviPharma has been impressed by Navigo’s customer and technology focus and the speed that Navigo has been able to develop research grade affinity resins. The science and the quality of delivered materials as well as the potential to further develop ligands for commercial purposes including membrane bound ligands is outstanding.”