About PlantForm
PlantForm Corporation is a privately-held Canadian biopharmaceutical company focused on the rapid development and production of specialty antibody and protein drugs using our proprietary vivoXPRESS® manufacturing platform. The plant-based vivoXPRESS® system makes it easier, faster and less expensive to produce approved biologic drugs for novel indications and new markets.
The company’s vivoXPRESS® technology uses genetically modified plants to produce biopharmaceuticals in fully contained greenhouse environments. Our plant-based technology delivers high drug expression levels and mammalian-type glycosylation (to eliminate the risk of an unwanted immune system reaction). vivoXPRESS® also provides the following key advantages compared to other fermentation systems for biologic drug production (e.g., mammalian cell culture):
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rapid drug development & production timelines
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versatile manufacturing platform (for new product development)
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unlimited scale-up capability
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low manufacturing costs (approximately one-tenth of mammalian-cell systems), and
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the ability to efficiently manufacture products that are problematic in other systems
See our vivoXPRESS® manufacturing platform diagram.
The PlantForm research team continues to advance the vivoXPRESS® platform, which originated at the University of Guelph through the work of Dr. J. Christopher Hall, a PlantForm co-founder. All relevant intellectual property is protected by six families of patent filings, with five patents issued to date.
PlantForm’s pipeline features both innovator and biosimilar/biobetter products, including:
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biosimilar pembrolizumab, a plant-made version of the cancer drug Keytruda®
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biosimilar ranibizumab, a plant-made version of the age-related macular degeneration (AMD) drug Lucentis®
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biobetter versions of two additional biologic drugs which are recombinant replacement versions of plasma-derived drugs
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an innovator antibody for treatment of ricin exposure
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recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), an enzyme used as preventative medicine for people vulnerable to attack by nerve agents, organophosphates or other stimulants.
Our Commitment
PlantForm is committed to producing high-value biopharmaceuticals in an environmentally and socially responsible manner to improve the quality of life and survival of patients with cancer and other critical illnesses.