Building a cell-free alternative to bacterial DNA production
nagene has been awarded funding under the FFG Basic Programme for a three-year research and development project with a total volume of approximately €1.5 million (grant and loan). The project focuses on the development of a cell-free, enzymatic DNA synthesis platform designed to meet the growing demand for high-purity DNA in therapeutic and vaccine applications.
Today, DNA used in gene and cell therapies is predominantly produced using bacterial fermentation processes, such as E. coli. While well established, these methods are timeconsuming and pose regulatory challenges due to bacterial impurities, endotoxins and extensive quality control requirements.
nagene’s technology replaces bacterial systems with a fully cell-free, enzymatic approach, enabling faster production, improved scalability and significantly cleaner DNA, a key requirement for GMP manufacturing and clinical use.
Applications in gene therapy, cell therapy and vaccines
The platform is designed to support a wide range of applications, including:
• non-viral CAR-T and TCR-T cell therapies (transposon-based systems
• viral gene and cell therapies (e.g. AAV and lentiviral vectors)
• DNA and RNA vaccines
• DNA templates for mRNA-based therapeutics
The market for cell and gene therapies is growing rapidly, while manufacturing costs and limited production capacity remain major bottlenecks. nagene’s approach aims to address these challenges by enabling more efficient and scalable DNA production.
Strengthening Vienna’s deep-tech biotech ecosystem
“With the support of FFG, we can systematically advance our technology towards industrial readiness and GMP compatibility,” says Natascha Mißbach, Co-Founder and CEO of nagene. “This funding represents an important milestone for our company and strengthens Vienna as a location for deep-tech biotechnology.”
About nagene
nagene is a Vienna-based deep-tech biotech company that has been active on the market for over three years, offering fast and reliable DNA synthesis products. Its current product portfolio includes DNA fragments, plasmids and glycerol stocks, which are provided to customers for research, development and ongoing applications.
In parallel, nagene is developing next-generation cell-free DNA synthesis technologies aimed at highly regulated applications such as gene and cell therapies, vaccines and advanced biomanufacturing.
The company works with GMP-compliant processes, places a strong emphasis on quality and scalability, and is ISO 9001 certified.
Website: https://www.nagene.com
Contact
Natascha Mißbach
Co-Founder & CEO, nagene GmbH
E-Mail: natascha.missbach(at)nagene.at