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DYAI: Another Partnership, Another Step Closer to Immunizing the World

By John Vandermosten, CFA

NASDAQ:DYAI

Dyadic Announces Partnership with FNLCR

Dyadic International, Inc. (NASDAQ:DYAI) announced in a press release yesterday that Frederick National Laboratory will use Dyadic’s proprietary protein-expression cell line, C1, for vaccine production. The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) is developing several COVID-19 vaccine candidates that will be used by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center (VRC) and at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The FNLCR has supervised vaccine projects related to previous epidemics including Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Ebola and Zika. They are also running a trial for Gilead’s Remdesivir. FNLCR is now ramping up work on a coronavirus vaccine and have chosen Dyadic’s expression system to produce candidate vaccines. It is unclear if Dyadic’s expression system will be used exclusively, or if other expression systems are also being used.

Including C1 in the vaccine development efforts send a strong signal from a federally funded organization that Dyadic’s expression system has appealing features. Being involved with this project is the perfect proving ground for C1. Selection will open the door for C1 and elevate it to a position where it can contribute to human trials and further legitimize the technology. Eventually, antibodies produced by the expression system may even help to immunize millions around the world. We see participating in this effort as an opportunity to demonstrate C1’s superior characteristics compared to insect, mammalian and other expression systems. If a vaccine is found, high levels of efficient production will be needed to deliver the potentially billions of doses that will be required to obtain herd immunity for COVID-19. Dyadic’s C1 is well-equipped to supply at this scale.

Dyadic’s C1 Productivity Compared to Competing Expression Systems1

Partnership with Israeli Institute for Biological Research

The FNLCR partnership will be conducted separately but in parallel with the coronavirus vaccine work that Dyadic has already done with the Israeli Institute for Biological Research (IIBR). In this relationship, Dyadic has provided the strain for C1 to produce the receptor binding domain for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and delivered purified product. The IIBR is now using C1 output to conduct animal trials, which, if successful, will lead to human trials and further validation of the platform.

SARS-CoV-2 Receptor Binding Domain2

Conclusion

Either one of these partnerships could lead to the use of C1-derived product in human trials which would be a huge win for Dyadic. With the expression system’s low cost and high productivity, it can meet the demands of low cost and scalability. We anticipate that when recognized companies and institutions advance into the clinic, there will be a new wave of demand for this versatile fungal expression system.

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1. Source: Dyadic Corporate Website - https://www.dyadic.com/c1-technology/c1-expression-system/

2. Lan, J., Ge, J., Yu, J. et al. Structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain bound to the ACE2 receptor. Nature 581, 215–220 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2180-5

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