Keynote talk: Future of Transient Gene Expression Keynote @ PEGS Europe 2018

Prof. Dr. F. Wurm was the keynote speaker in the Optimizing Expression Platforms conference at PEGS Summit Europe in Lisbon, Portugal in November 2018. The topic was Transient Protein (Gene) Expression: From R&D towards Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and was followed by a round-table discussion later that day. For detailed information about the conference, view the PEGS Europe page on Optimising Expression Platforms. The Cambridge Health Institute and Prof. Wurm discussed foreseeable advances in transient protein expression for the next decade.

Transient protein (gene) expression (TGE) delivers products in days. HEK-293 cell TGE helped to identify a “better than nature” thrombolytic resulting in the approval of (TNKase “Tenecteplase”). Scale-up R&D resulted in the first 100 Liter–scale production in the late 1990s. Recent progress in transient protein expression, including viral vector production, delivers grams and tens of grams of high-quality protein/virus vector for preclinical research and, for clinical use soon?

Questions addressed:

  1. Let's talk about transient protein expression. What advances do you foresee in this approach for enabling efficient engineering and expression of therapeutic proteins in the next decade?
  2. What potential solutions seem promising for some challenges?
  3. Are there promising glimpses into using transient protein gene expression for clinical use today?
  4. You'll be discussing “Transient Protein (Gene) Expression: From R&D towards Pharmaceutical Manufacturing” during your keynote presentation on 14 November. What's the main theme you'd like to convey to your audience of protein engineers and researchers?