The Evolution of Plasmids in Drug Discovery and Development

Plasmids are extrachromosomal circular DNA molecules that are typically small (less than 20kb) and able to replicate independently of nuclear DNA replication or cell replication. Plasmids are understood to be critical vector for horizontal gene transfer in bacteria, mediating and accelerating bacterial evolution. Plasmids have become the backbone of biopharmaceutical drug development as genetic “raw material.” What makes plasmids an attractive vector for RNA and recombinant protein production is that host cells can contain multiple copies of plasmids and the ease of transforming plasmids into microbial fermentation strains, thus exponentially expanding the number of plasmids in a relatively short period of time.

In preclinical phases of drug development, production of high-quality plasmids is key to enabling drug discovery and streamlining downstream processes towards preclinical manufacturing and clinical trials. The Life Sciences companies of Danaher offer a suite of automation, analytical tools, and expertise designed to streamline and optimize plasmid development and production workflows. Aldevron – a global leader in plasmid production – is a Danaher company that offers bespoke, custom research-use or GMP-grade plasmid DNA and components at scale. Products such as the Beckman Coulter Life SciencesEcho Acoustic Liquid Handler allow for rapid arraying of plasmid components to create diverse candidate libraries. Pick colonies with the Molecular Devices QPix 400 Series Microbial Colony Picker for automating transfer of liquid cultures onto agar plates and colony selection of up to 30,000 colonies per day. Once screened, ensure quality fermentation and high yields with the Beckman Coulter Life Sciences BioLector XT Microbioreator.

As the demand for plasmid development and manufacturing grows, customer pain points also make themselves known. Supply chain challenges can disrupt drug development projects, costing time and money and extending discovery and development timelines. Ensuring plasmid quality and function can be another bottleneck in the workflow, as can colony selection to bring forward to GMP production. The Life Sciences companies of Danaher offer a full suite of tools and partnerships to ensure a high-quality and streamlined plasmid DNA production workflow. Talk to an expert to discuss how to scale your plasmid development.