Boston, United States – Manus, the world’s leading bioalternatives scale-up platform, today announced that it has received a $32.4 million award from the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III Program to support the domestic production of critical essential medicines at population-scale.  

‍

The funding, awarded through the Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Preparedness Consortium (BioMaP-Consortium), will enable Manus to establish key infrastructure to manufacture natural product drugs through biomanufacturing and semi-synthesis, onshore critical medicines manufacturing, and advance the U.S. bioeconomy.

‍

To achieve this, Manus will partner with ArtemiFlow USA, which specializes in the use of continuous flow chemistry for the production of pharmaceuticals. By combining Manus’ bioalternatives scale-up platform for accessing natural products with ArtemiFlow’s proprietary flow chemistry technology, Manus will be able to produce these essential medicines at scale. 

‍

“We are honored to receive this significant funding from HHS’ DPA Title III Program, which will enable us to harness the power of bioalternatives to secure the domestic production of critical medicines,” says Manus Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ajikumar “Aji” Parayil. “By combining ArtemiFlow’s advanced flow chemistry technology with Manus’ BioOptimization Cycle™ and BioAccelerator Program, we are confident in our ability to biomanufacture a reliable and sustainable supply of essential drugs – and further create bioeconomy jobs in rural America.”

‍

The infrastructure for this production will be co-located with Manus’ Augusta, Georgia, large-scale BioFacility, which will be expanded to include unique cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) capabilities for producing pharmaceutical key starting materials (KSMs) and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). 

‍

Continuing the fight against malaria

The first drug to be manufactured through this new platform will be artemisinin, a key starting material for artesunate, a crucial anti-malaria therapy. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the use of derivatives of artemisinin, such as artesunate, in combination therapies as the frontline treatments for malaria. 

‍

Manus has made significant progress in applying its pioneering BioOptimization Cycle and BioAccelerator Program to develop a fermentation-based approach for making the artemisinin precursor dihydroartemisinic acid (DHAA) with funding support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This sustainable and scalable source of DHAA will be efficiently converted into artemisinin and, later, into its derivatives using ArtemiFlow’s flow chemistry technology. 

‍

“We are thrilled to leverage our versatile, modular flow technology to convert Manus’ dihydroartemisinic acid bioalternative into artemisinin,” says Adam Maust, Chief Executive Officer of ArtemiFlow USA. “Through this partnership, we are creating a scalable and economical alternative manufacturing route to traditional agricultural extraction, helping to stabilize the supply and expand the availability of this critical medicine.” 

‍

Creating a more self-sufficient healthcare system

The partnership between Manus and ArtemiFlow represents a significant step forward in bolstering domestic production of essential medicines and reducing reliance on foreign sources. 

‍

“This award represents a major milestone in our desire to create a more resilient and self-sufficient healthcare system – and accelerate the transition to bioalternatives by delivering the benefits of synthetic biology, today. By producing artemisinin domestically, we are taking a major step to combat malaria and ensure access to life-saving treatments for the American people and for people all over the world,” Aji Parayil concludes.

‍

This project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR); Office of Industrial Base Management and Supply Chain (IBMSC); Defense Production Act Title III Program (DPA Title III), under Other Transaction Authority agreement number #75A50123D00003.