Fulfilling the potential of life-saving medications
PlantForm Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the rapid development and production of specialty antibody and protein drugs using our proprietary vivoXPRESS® 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 pipeline includes:
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trastuzumab for a novel indication in nerve regeneration
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biosimilar versions of Lucentis® and other niche indication drugs, and
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medical countermeasures to terrorism threats such as ricin and sarin.
Our programs are funded through equity, government grants and contracts with partners such as Defence Research and Development Canada, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Plant technology for fast, low-cost, versatile, scalable production
The vivoXPRESS® platform cuts product development and production timelines to as little as six weeks, and improves process consistency, reducing manufacturing costs by as much as 90 per cent compared to traditional production systems for biologic drugs. The technology features a unique molecular cloning system with minimal steps for speed and accuracy, and creates mammalian surface glycosylation to eliminate any risk of immunogenicity (immune response) in patients. PlantForm has established that one of its first biosimilar products is directly comparable to the originator, and can be produced at an advantageous cost.
Intellectual property
PlantForm has submitted six families of patents to protect the core platform technology and its products. Three patents have been issued in the United States (2) and Australia (1), and the company has 14 pending submitted applications.
Partnering and contracting
The Company makes the vivoXPRESS® technology platform available to other parties for the production of antibodies and proteins under contract and licensing arrangements.
PlantForm entered into a partnership agreement with PharmaPraxis, Brazil, in 2014. The Joint Venture, named PlantPraxis, is focused on the development and production of biosimilar and biobetter antibody drugs for Brazil and other South American markets.
The privately-held company was established in 2008 and has offices in Guelph (headquarters), Toronto and Sarnia.