Tuesday, 27 July 2021 | 12:00 noon – Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA
Business Development Manager, co-founder, Cape Biologix Technologies South Africa, Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA
Producing SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics proteins in plants- An African Story
(Host: G. Schäfer)
Cape Biologix, a subsidiary of Cape Bio Pharms, is focused on producing research and diagnostic protein reagents in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. The company began as a spin-off from the University of Cape Town’s Bio Pharming Research Unit, BRU, headed by Prof Ed Rybicki in 2018. This talk will cover the companies’ journey from lab scale processes to production, as well as the landscape of SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test kit development locally. We will explore how plants are a viable alternative production platform for producing recombinant proteins and some of the benefits of the plant-based platform. The vision for producing therapeutic proteins such as subunit vaccines and therapeutic antibodies for the African continent will also be explored. https://www.capebiopharms.com/