News Release

RAFT polymerization technology enabling the biotech industry

Business Announcement

CSIRO Australia

CSIRO and Mirus Bio LLC are pleased to announce a new license arrangement that will enable Mirus Bio to utilize the unique characteristics of CSIRO's Reversible Addition-Fragmentation chain Transfer polymerisation technology (RAFT) to expand upon its high-end polymer development capabilities for the biotech industry.

Mirus Bio Vice President of Scientific Operations Scott Hayes said the agreement would allow the company to broaden its expertise.

"This agreement with CSIRO broadens the scope of specialised polymer design tools available to Mirus and facilitates our continued efforts to improve nucleic acid transfer capabilities. We expect that utilization of RAFT will lead to new discoveries and expedite our product development efforts," Dr Hayes said.

"CSIRO is very pleased to be working with Mirus Bio in the transfection space," said Cathy Foley from CSIRO.

"The scientists at Mirus are leaders in introducing innovative products in this area and have developed a range of delivery technologies for researchers in the biotech industry that can make use of our polymer technology," she said.

"RAFT has very broad applicability in the biotech and biomedical industry because of the need for new and improved multifunctional polymers for many different applications. RAFT enables the rapid, rational design and prove-out of bespoke macromolecules," Dr Foley said.

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Contact CSIRO if you would like to discuss using RAFT for your industrial application.

About Mirus Bio

For over a decade, Mirus Bio has pioneered scientific breakthroughs in non-viral gene delivery. Their products are considered the industry bench mark and are used in laboratories around the globe. Mirus Bio aim to continue to grow their expertise in nucleic acid delivery research and products to better serve their customers.

About CSIRO

CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) is Australia's national research agency and is one of the largest and most diverse scientific organizations in the world. CSIRO carries out scientific research in areas including energy, the environment, information technology, health, mining, manufacturing, agriculture, and natural resources. CSIRO has active research programs and partnerships furthering the development of the RAFT technology and its applications. More information on CSIRO is available at http://www.csiro.au

About RAFT

RAFT or Reversible Addition-Fragmentation chain Transfer polymerization, is a technology platform for making better polymers. It uses simple, free-radical chemistry to enable the synthesis of tailor-made polymers with predetermined molecular weights, narrow polydispersities and complex architectures. RAFT is very broadly applicable to polymers particularly in the areas of industrial, personal care, agricultural and biomedical polymers where higher order functionality is required. The development of the RAFT process has given rise to a new branch of polymer chemistry, and its inventors have received numerous awards for RAFT's development. To date, more than 4000 papers have been published on RAFT, coupled with over 400 patents granted globally. CSIRO licenses and collaborates to develop RAFT applications globally, and would like to hear from you about your application.


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