DNA Script bags DARPA funding

The DARPA money will be invested to establish a partnership of DNA Script with the mRNA vaccine specialist Moderna, Inc. to develop a prototype for rapid mobile manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics. Under the agreement, the French company will contribute its novel enzymatic synthesis platform to quickly generate high-fidelity nucleic acids without the use of hazardous chemical solvents to power Moderna’s existing manufacturing technology for the rapid production of messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines.

DARPA’s NOW initiative aims to develop a mobile, just-in-time manufacturing platform that quickly diagnoses pathogen and bioweapon threats and provides medical countermeasures to deliver pandemic prevention treatments. The resulting Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP-) quality nucleic acid (including mRNA) vaccines and therapeutics are intended to deliver near-instantaneous protections to both military personnel and local populations. The design envisions a manufacturing unit capable of producing hundreds of doses of medicines in a matter of days in a 1.8m x 1.8m x 1.8m container, deployable to remote locations around the world.

Founded in 2014 in Paris, DNA Script is pioneering an alternative to traditional DNA synthesis called enzymatic DNA synthesis, or EDS, making this technology accessible to labs with the world’s first benchtop enzymatic synthesis instrument, SYNTAX.

Fueled by funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Germany’s mRNA vaccine developer Curevac NV has already established a GMP process for non-military manufacturing of mRNA vaccines. Together with Tesla subsidiary Grohmann Research the RNA printer allows for in-field production of large amounts of doses in infection hotspots.