Prolongate

Michael Wetter

Sugar Polymers for Better Protein Drugs

Most protein-based drugs have a short circulatory half-life in the patient and therefore require frequent injections, which are expensive and a great inconvenience.

The central innovation of Prolongate’s work is a microbiological process in which genetically modified bacteria produce ready-to-use protein drugs, modified with a natural sugar polymer. The sugar polymer used is also found in the human body and on the surface of certain pathogenic bacteria that use it to camouflage themselves from the immune system. Their approach significantly simplifies the production process and yields a precise, well-defined product compared to state-of-the-art technologies. Pronlongate is planning to apply this platform technology to develop a robust pipeline of next-generation protein drugs.