Touchlight and GSK Partner for mRNA Vaccine Development

• Touchlight has signed a license agreement with GSK for the use of its enzymatic dbDNA technology in mRNA-based product development.

• The agreement includes an upfront payment, ongoing fees, milestone payments, and royalties.

Touchlight, an innovation-driven CDMO, has entered into a license agreement with GSK, a leader in biopharmaceutical innovation. This agreement grants GSK non-exclusive rights to use Touchlight’s proprietary enzymatic dbDNA (doggybone DNA) technology for the development and production of mRNA-based products.

The license will enable GSK to access the technology for rapid and scalable GMP production of DNA, potentially accelerating the production of multivalent mRNA vaccines. These vaccines could be used against seasonal epidemics and pandemic threats. While the financial terms of the agreement remain undisclosed, the deal includes an upfront payment, ongoing technology access fees, clinical and regulatory milestone payments, and royalties on GSK’s mRNA products manufactured with Touchlight’s enzymatic dbDNA.

Touchlight’s dbDNA technology can produce high-purity GMP DNA using an enzymatic process, offering a faster and more scalable alternative to traditional plasmid DNA production. This technology is particularly well suited for mRNA vaccine development, enabling rapid and efficient production of the DNA templates required for mRNA synthesis.

In 2023, Touchlight brought its multi-kg production facility in London online. The company now has numerous client products that have implemented dbDNA for clinical development, including three with accepted IND/CTAs. In addition to being used as a critical starting material for mRNA production and within AAV products, dbDNA will enter clinical development later in 2024 as an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient for a therapeutic cancer vaccine, alongside multiple other anticipated INDs across various modalities.

Jonny Ohlson, Executive Chair and Founder of Touchlight, commented: “GSK is a global leader in vaccination, and we are delighted they have licensed our proprietary enzymatic dbDNA technology for the development and production of their mRNA-based products. The adoption of Touchlight’s enzymatic DNA is gathering pace and becoming an important part of the advanced therapy supply chain. Our technology delivers the speed, scalability and high-quality DNA products that are essential for the next generation of mRNA therapeutics.”