Exactmer joins forces with leading institutions to secure Innovative Technologies Award

Exactmer is excited to announce the successful application to the Innovative Technologies for Nucleic Acid Medicines Manufacturing competition, delivered by the Innovate UK Transforming Medicine Manufacturing programme. Exactmer will work in collaboration with CPI, Queen Mary University of London and AstraZeneca, forming a consortium of leading experts in membrane production, nanofiltration, oligo manufacture and commercialisation. 

The consortium will receive £1.8 million funding for a 24-month long project aimed at Maximising Efficiency of Liquid Phase Oligo Synthesis (MELOS). The project will focus on improving the process efficiency and sustainability of Exactmer’s Nanostar Sieving technology for liquid-phase synthesis of oligonucleotides at large scale. 

Oligonucleotides, or oligos, are short chains of nucleotides that are used in a variety of applications, including gene therapy, diagnostics, and drug delivery. The current methods for manufacturing oligos are often inefficient and environmentally unfriendly. Nanostar Sieving technology is a new approach to oligo synthesis that uses a membrane to separate the growing oligo from unreacted monomers, allowing for more efficient and sustainable production of oligos. 

The MELOS project will focus on improving the following aspects of the Nanostar Sieving technology: 

  • Process efficiency: The team will develop new chemistries and process conditions to improve the yield and throughput of the Nanostar Sieving process. 
  • Sustainability: The team will develop methods to reduce the use of solvents and other chemicals in the Nanostar Sieving process. 
  • Scalability: The team will develop methods to scale up the Nanostar Sieving process for commercial production of oligos. 

“We are excited to be working on this project with such a talented team of partners,” said Piers Gaffney, CSO of Exactmer. “The MELOS project has the potential to revolutionize the way oligos are manufactured, making them more affordable and accessible to patients.” 

This is a significant step forward in the development of the Nanostar Sieving technology. The MELOS project is expected to lead to improved process efficiency, sustainability, and scalability of the technology, and in the future it could benefit millions of patients worldwide.