Moss Cell Line Finds Broader Application
Freiburg-based Eleva relies on its moss-based platform for the development of new biologics both independently and with partners. A new alliance with Spanish CDMO 3PBIOVIAN now secures clinical production capacity for both activities.
EuroBiotech_Where does Eleva find its niche in the rapidly evolving therapeutic landscape?
Andreas Schaaf_It is well known that a significant number of proteins cannot be produced in CHO cells at all or only with suboptimal outcomes. As a result, these CHO-incompatible biologics, even if they have great therapeutic potential, are simply avoided by our industry. Our moss-based platform can make such candidates “developable” again. That’s why, we are currently “alone in the field” with our Factor H (CPV-104) program, a natural regulator of the complement system.
EuroBiotech_CDMOs tend to trust only a few technology platforms. How did Eleva gain a foothold in this market?
Schaaf_First, it helps to be as close as possible to the industry’s “workhorse,” the CHO platform. For example, we do not need greenhouses like other plant-based approaches. Our moss cell line grows in standard fermenters with an additional light source at this stage. In the long term, we aim to further refine the strengths of our own platform and address its remaining limitations. That is why technology development at our company remains a priority.
EuroBiotech_What does the 3PBIOVIAN partnership mean for Eleva?
Schaaf_We benefit in three ways. For our own pipeline, particularly CPV-104, we have secured the production capacity needed for mid-stage clinical studies. At the same time, we can offer these capacities to partners who want to develop biologics with our platform. As a result of the alliance, we essentially triple our GMP production capacity for programs based on our technology platform. And as a third component, 3PBIOVIAN is now the first CDMO in the market actively promoting our moss-based platform. Other CDMOs could follow.
EuroBiotech_How did the market react to this?
Schaaf_Very positive. We are, as always, engaged in numerous discussions with
biopharma companies whose innovative drug classes could particularly benefit from moss-based expression—such as antibody-based therapeutics in all their modern forms, cytokines, and complex proteins in general. One key topic in these discussions is always securing capacity for clinical development, and we are beginning to address this through alliances like this one.
EuroBiotech_What are Eleva’s next steps?
Schaaf_From our own pipeline, initiating the clinical development of Factor H (CPV-104) for a chronic kidney disease, C3G more specifically, is our main focus. We are also considering an indication expansion into dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD). Our second clinical program aGal (RPV-001) in Fabry Disease will move forward once we have secured a partnership for this compound. Furthermore, we are currently selecting entirely new molecules to expand our pipeline and are open to partner on such projects.
Contact:
Eleva GmbH
Andreas Schaaf, CSO & Managing Director
aschaaf@elevabiologics.com
https://elevabiologics.com
Andreas Schaaf, Chief Scientific Officer & Managing Director; he holds a PhD in plant biotechnology. Before joining Eleva in 2009, he held positions at the Universities of Münster and Freiburg, Germany. At Eleva, he played a key role in transforming the company’s moss-based expression technology into a fully viable biopharmaceutical platform. Since 2015, he has served as CSO and was appointed Managing Director in late 2019.
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