Plant-based solution provides safety and security  

Reykjavik, Iceland – November 28, 2007  – ORF Genetics, headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, announced today that they have introduced the next generation of human growth factors and cytokines. Marketed under the brand name ISOkine^TM, the first-ever biorisk-free growth factors and cytokines are produced utilizing a plant-based expression platform offering products of excellent purity and bioactivity. The ISOkine^TM product will be a unique alternative to decades old bacterial and animal-based products, providing the research community with a more sophisticated and cost effective option free of biorisk or host system concerns.              

ORF Genetics’ cytokines and growth factors are produced in the company’s unique Orfeus^TM production system, which utilizes the endosperm tissue of the barley grain as the production host for recombinant proteins. The “animal-free” endosperm tissue has some highly individual features, such as very low protease activity, very low pyrogenic and pro-inflammatory activity, and avoidance of human or animal infectious agents, as acknowledged by regulatory authorities. The output is a biorisk-free growth factor and cytokine characterized by extremely low endotoxin levels, 100-1000x lower than in bacterial-derived systems.

 “We are proud to be the first company to offer biorisk-free growth factors in a market where the host background of the production system is becoming a regulatory concern,” said Bjorn Larus Orvar, CEO of ORF Genetics.  “The company has successfully brought its first products to market, and we expect to have more than 90 different growth factors and cytokines in the market within the next 18 months,” continued Orvar. “We will be exhibiting at the upcoming American Society for Cell Biology and the American Society of Hematology events in December, and look forward to presenting our new products to the research community.”

Due to the scalability of the Orfeus™ production system, ORF Genetics will be able to supply large-scale quantities of ISOkine™ growth factors and cytokines in a very price competitive manner.  Researchers interested in ISOkine™ growth factors can easily contact the company through ORF Genetics’s web site.

For further information visit: www.orfgenetics.com

About ORF Genetics

Headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland ORF Genetics Ltd. is a privately owned biotech company that is committed to economically viable and enabling solutions for the production of recombinant proteins, such as growth factors and cytokines.  Utilizing its unique Orfeus™ plant based expression system, the company is currently producing bio-risk free, high purity ISOkine™ products to serve the needs of the medical scientific research, cell culture media and diagnostics communities.

Contact:
Bjorn Larus Orvar, Ph.D.
CEO
ORF Genetics
Keldnaholt
IS-112 Reykjavik
Iceland
354 591 1570
354 821 1573
www.orfgenetics.com