Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will fund further research at Sangamo and Sangamo will use its zinc finger DNA-binding protein (ZFP) technology to develop additional cell lines for enhanced protein production.
“We believe that the expansion of this agreement is evidence of our successful development and application of this technology to facilitate the generation of improved production cell lines with altered traits,” said Edward Lanphier, Sangamo’s president and CEO.
ZFPs are the dominant class of naturally occurring transcription factors in organisms from yeast to humans. Transcription factors, which are found in the nucleus of every cell, bind to DNA to regulate gene expression.
Though there are many kinds of transcription factors, only zinc finger DNA-binding proteins are amenable to engineering and precise targeting to a particular gene or genes of interest.
By engineering ZFPs that recognize a specific DNA sequence Sangamo scientists have created ZFP transcription factors that can control gene expression and consequently, cell function.