Recipient: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. (Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science – MPG)
Funding: GO-Bio initial conceptual phase 4 (01/10/2023 to 30/09/2024, EUR 93,509.00)

Project description:

By 2050 an estimated 130 million people will need pain-relieving drugs based on benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIA). BIAs are natural substances that are isolated from plants. However, the limited availability of BIA makes it difficult to obtain, and the chemical synthesis of BIA is difficult and expensive due to its complex structure.

The BIPASS project aims to develop a technological solution for the cost-effective production of BIA-based medicines. The project focuses on the genetic programming of the yeast Pichia pastoris for the production of rare BIA. To ensure the long-term production of BIA drugs in yeast, the BIPASS platform undergoes bioprocess optimisation.

The technologies required to build the platform need to be technically analysed to ensure its broad applicability for the production of BIA drugs. In order to select the most relevant BIA drugs for production with BIPASS, an appropriate study of market demand and associated intellectual property rights is also necessary and part of the project.