ArcticZymes Technologies ASA executed a contract with The Research Council of Norway, securing up to 11.8 MNOK for a collaborative project aimed at supporting the advanced therapy biomanufacturing sector. This follows a previously announced research grant awarded by the Norwegian Research Council. The agreements with the Norwegian Research Council and the project partners, the University of Tromso - The Arctic University of Norway, and SINTEF Industri have now been finalized, marking the project's commencement.

The project has been named AdEPT - Advancing Enzymes for Precision Therapeutics and will run from 2024 through 2027. In recent years, ArcticZymes Technologies has successfully provided enzymes for manufacturing viral vectors used in cell and gene therapy, as well as vaccines. Viral vectors and nucleic acids like RNA and DNA are increasingly utilized in advanced therapy medicinal products.

Enzymes play a crucial role in the manufacturing, analytics, and quality control of these therapeutic RNAs and DNAs. However, significant technical challenges remain, including development costs, commercial scale manufacturing, and sufficient quality for therapeutic use. The project, AdEPT, aims to address these challenges by developing novel enzyme solutions for the manufacturing and analysis of therapeutic RNA.