Promosome

About Promosome

Promosome LLC is a synthetic biology and biopharmaceutical company that has developed a proprietary technology for reengineering messenger RNA (mRNA) to enhance protein production. Founded in 2003, the company's scientific roots trace back to the work of the late Nobel laureate Dr. Gerald Edelman and his colleague Dr. Vincent Mauro, who serves as Promosome's Chief Scientific Officer. Their research into protein translation led to the creation of a suite of tools that optimize ribosome recruitment and translation initiation, ultimately increasing the efficiency of protein expression. This technology focuses on modifying non-protein coding regions of mRNA, which allows for enhanced translation without the risks associated with traditional codon optimization, such as synonymous mutations that could lead to immunogenicity.

The company operates in the biotechnology sector, providing its mRNA engineering technology to partners in the biotherapeutics manufacturing space. One of its key strategic partnerships was with GE Healthcare Life Sciences to develop mammalian cell line generation services aimed at boosting expression levels for difficult-to-manufacture biotherapeutics. Promosome's business model involves licensing its patented technology and forming collaborations with developers of nucleic acid therapeutics, including those working on gene therapies, mRNA therapeutics, and DNA/RNA vaccines. The company has also pursued its own internal drug development pipeline, with a program targeting alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

In recent years, Promosome has been involved in significant patent infringement litigation. In June 2023, the company filed lawsuits against Moderna, Pfizer, and BioNTech, alleging that their mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines utilized Promosome's patented technology without a license. The lawsuits claim that Promosome had shared its technology with Moderna in 2013 and with a BioNTech scientist in 2015. While the U.S. lawsuit against Pfizer and BioNTech was later dismissed, Promosome has since filed a similar suit in Europe at the UPC's Munich local division based on its European patent.