BioSun & ARTES Announce Co-Development Agreement for HPV Vaccine


BioSun Pharmed and ARTES Biotechnology recently announced they will join forces for the development and manufacturing of a HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine in Iran. The agreed long-term collaboration involved the strength of both partners. ARTES Biotechnology GmbH (ARTES) is specialized in cell line and process development of virus like particle (VLP)-based vaccines and in technology transfer for pharmaceutically relevant production processes.
BioSun Pharmed Co is involved in the manufacturing of high-quality and safe vaccines and biopharmaceutical products for the domestic and international markets.

Human papilloma virus infection (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection globally. Most people are infected at some point in their lives. There are approximately 79 million men/women actively infected with the virus at any point in time. Annually, there are 14 million newly diagnosed cases of HPV. HPV infection can cause in warts or precancerous lesions. The precancerous lesions increase the risk of cancer. In 2012, about 270,000 women died from cervical cancer, more than 85% of these deaths occurring in low and middle income countries.

“We are extremely delighted about the mutually agreed collaboration. This agreement is the next step in ARTES’ strategy to develop from a service provider for process development to a partner for full pharmaceutical product development,” said Dr. Michael Piontek, founder and Managing Director of ARTES Biotechnology.

For the first time, ARTES will be responsible for process development of API, formulation, quality control, and supply of preclinical test material. In addition, ARTES will be engaged in design of the manufacturing site at BioSun and in selection of third parties for GMP manufacturing.

“I am really pleased that after technical and commercial discussions, we could finally make collaboration agreement with a well-known and reliable partner for not only producing pre-master cell banks but also for co-developments of our mutual interested products. Our mission is producing high quality and affordable vaccines and biotech products improving health level of community,” added Dr. Mohammad Taghavian, Managing Director of Biosun Pharmed.

ARTES is a pharmaceutical technology provider specialized in recombinant protein production, process, and vaccine development from microbial expression systems, and markets the unique METAVAX (dHepB-VLP) technology in combination with yeast expression. ARTES platform is applicable for large and multimeric antigens and is able to create chimeric VLPs. In addition to genetic engineering, the company provides fermentation and downstream process development, analytical assay development, and production cell line characterization. ARTES operates worldwide from its 850-sqm S1 facilities in Langenfeld.

Biosun Pharmed is a leading Iranian biopharmaceutical developer/manufacturer and a pioneer in mass-production of GMP biopharmaceuticals in the region targeting local and international markets. Biosun Pharmed started its activity from 2012, aiming to produce strategic and vital biotechnological products from API to finished dosage forms, using the latest knowledge and technologies based on local and global standards. Company’s activities are categorized in four main areas considered as the most important fields in biotechnological industry, which are: Biosimilars, Peptides, Vaccines, and mAbs. Based on this, Biosun is making agreements for co-development of targeted products with knowledgeable and high-tech companies.