the future.
We Live Biotech
Nature offers solutions to almost all problems – the task is to make them usable for mankind. This is biotechnology, the industry of the future: truly sustainable, climate-neutral and a guarantor of our standard of living.
The key to success is efficient enzymes, the natural catalysts. That’s why, as protein engineers, we optimize enzymes for application, creating new drugs through controlled biosynthesis.
the basis.
Natural Product: Polyketides
Evolution has produced countless biologically active substances – so-called natural products. These offer their producers great advantages over predators or competitors and are produced in particular by microorganisms and plants through biosynthesis. The biochemical processes behind this are often extremely complex and can only in exceptional cases be replaced in an economically viable way by synthetic processes.
Polyketides are a particularly complex and structurally diverse class of natural substances whose representatives hold out the prospect of application as drugs in almost all medical areas. Biosynthesis takes place in gigantic enzyme factories and is similar to the principle of an industrial assembly line.
the Problem.
Active Ingredients are Not the Same as Drugs
Naturally occurring polyketides can only be used directly as a drug in exceptional cases, as the conditions in the body differ fundamentally from those in the natural environment. Thus, drug target specificity, physicochemical property, bioavailability, pharmacokinetics and metabolic stability of the active ingredient are crucial factors to ensure safe and low side-effect use in patients. In order to meet these high requirements, the naturally-occurring molecules must in most cases be slightly chemically modified through so-called derivatization.
The derivatization of polyketides can be carried out in three different ways: by total synthesis, semi-synthesis or modified biosynthesis. Total synthesis by chemists is very costly and virtually never economically viable. Semi-synthesis – i.e. the subsequent modification of the natural substance – has been used to develop most drugs to date. However, it is very time-consuming and offers only limited possibilities. To circumvent these problems, modifications must be installed during the production of the polyketide by adapting the biosynthesis. This is extremely complicated, since enzyme factories are as complex as their products, but it allows for almost limitless options.
the Revolution.
Our Platform
Our patented (pending and published) kezbio-technology bridges the gap at the interface between synthetic chemistry and biosynthesis and offers unprecedented options for modifying the polyketide scaffold. We directly target the biosynthesis of the polyketides and specifically modify the enzyme factories by protein engineering. In doing so, we modulate the protein architecture and enzyme kinetics and open up new biocatalytic processes that are anchored in the genome of the production strain. This can then be cultivated on a laboratory or industrial scale and produces the optimized polyketide derivative permanently and sustainably.
With our platformtechnology, we combine well-established methods of organic chemistry, molecular biology and fermentation technology with state-of-the-art genome editing, bioinformatics and machine learning in a revolutionary way. This combination is unique and allows us to break new ground at the frontier of the unknown.
the advantages.
We Offer…
Short Development Cycles
Fast results from the bioreactor without lengthy reaction step optimizations.
Many Degrees of Freedom
The specific exchange of atoms at single or multiple positions allows the creation of innumerable derivatives.
Scalable Production
Whether laboratory or factory scale, microbial processes can be adapted to any volume needs without extensive modifications.
Sustainable Cultivation
Our bioreactors are operated with renewable raw materials, we strive for CO2 neutrality.
Inexpensive Production
Microbial processes optimized by nature instead of complex chemical synthesis – we can produce the polyketides at attractive conditions.
Universal Platform
Our technology can be applied to all modular polyketide synthases and all production strains.
our UsP.
The KEZ®|Selectase® Pair
Our platform is based on a sophisticated interaction between the substrates KEZ® and the enzyme domain MAT. Our patented (pending and published) Enzyme Selectase® is introduced into the genome of the production strain by molecular biology with pinpoint accuracy, thereby determining the position of the chemical modification in the polyketide backbone.
The KEZ® substrates are added during fermentation and determine the corresponding desired functional groups. In the process, we are continuously working on expanding the chemical functional options.
The areas of application.
Developer Tool for New Drugs
We exclusively use biologically active natural products already selected by nature and operate in the area between lead optimization, hit validation and preclinical phase of drug development:
New Antibiotics
We are developing the prototype for our platformtechnology based on the biosynthesis of erythromycin, a so-called macrolide antibiotic. This class is generally characterized by good tolerability and a wide variety of representatives have been used successfully for a long time. We screen our active substance library for activity against resistant germs.
Specific Derivatives
The well-studied polyketide shows excellent biological activity and a sound basic knowledge of the properties and drug-target interaction exists. We specifically install functions at the desired position to respond to changing target structures or to optimize the molecular properties for the application.
Drug Libraries
If the relationships are significantly more complex or the mechanism of action of the polyketide has not yet been elucidated, diversification of the lead structure is needed for further development. With our platform, we create libraries of active compounds that are available for screening for improved activity or molecular properties.
Building Blocks
Small polyketide synthons or pharmacophores can be prepared for specific further processing by installing different orthogonal groups on the scaffold.