CDMO Fujifilm Biotechnologies unveiled its ShunzymeX precision purification technology, which is aimed at simplifying downstream processing for complex biologics. The technology will be presented this week at the Festival of Biologics conference in San Diego.

Fujifilm Biotechnologies, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, developed ShunzymeX, a proprietary technology that leverages a novel protease to enable purification of complex biologics with a simplified process, according to the company. This technology enables the addition of an affinity tag to the protein, allowing the biologic protein to be purified with an off-the-shelf affinity resin. After purification, the novel protease cleaves off the tag without leaving a scar on the native protein.

ShunzymeX addresses some of the inherent challenges in traditional microbial downstream purification due to the diversity of microbial-expressed proteins, including variability in size and sequence, leading to a lack of suitable affinity resins, says John Stewart, senior vice president of global process development, Fujifilm Biotechnologies.