Proteins, including enzymes, have obvious applications in the detergent, personal care, agricultural, food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, but until now it has not been possible to use enzymes in potential applications (e.g. Personal Care) due to the allergenic potency of the molecules.
Novozymes is developing an economically attractive technology for the production and identification of proteins with reduced allergenicity. The immunological strategy aims at preventing the sensitization of healthy persons to the protein and the induction of symptoms in individuals who already have an allergy.
Novozymes’ strong patent portfolio in this field is built upon:
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A high-throughput technology for identifying essential protein sequences and structures (called epitopes)
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Localization of these epitopes on the surface of the protein by 3D computer modelling
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protein engineering within these epitopes
To screen protein libraries for protein variants with reduced allergenic potencies, a screening assay with a throughput of more than 10,000 variants per week has been developed.
Novozymes has established a strong patent portfolio covering an extensive database of epitope sequences and patterns, a primary screening assay and an in vitro cell stimulation assay on human non-immune cells. Combining these technologies allows identification of low allergenic proteins from a library of candidates in less than a week. In comparison, the identification of low allergenic proteins using animal models would take several months.