NC State to Partner With ChromaGenix on Transformative Toolkit for Manufacturing Biological Therapies

NC State University will partner with ChromaGenix, a life science company that wants to transform the field of affinity purification technologies, on research to expand the company’s ligand discovery platform.

The five-year research project will seek to develop up to 10 novel ligands dedicated to the purification of emerging therapeutic modalities, including mRNA, plasmid DNA, exosomes, and viral vectors for gene and cell therapies. 

Affinity purification, also known as affinity chromatography, leverages the selective recognition of a medicinal biologic by an affinity ligand in order to purify a target molecule.

In affinity chromatography, ligands are used to target and capture specific biologics — essentially, filtering them out of the complex solutions that operators harvest from bioreactors — ultimately yielding a highly purified product. This process has become the cornerstone of modern biopharmaceutical manufacturing and helps supply clinics worldwide with life-saving products. ChromaGenix’s unique approach relies upon affinity ligands based on synthetic peptides, which can be mass-manufactured affordably and, in turn, decrease the price of advanced medicines.

The new research partnership builds on a long-standing relationship between NC State and ChromaGenix. The portfolio of purification products currently marketed by ChromaGenix originated at NC State and was initially commercialized by LigaTrap Technologies —  whose assets, intellectual property and scientific staff were recently transferred to BioProcess360 Partners to form ChromaGenix.

The research project will be led by Stefano Menegatti, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, who founded LigaTrap and is now the chief scientific officer of ChromaGenix. 

“This is a rare opportunity to help shape an entire generation of purpose-built downstream purification tools that start in academia and end in commercial manufacturing environments,” Menegatti said. “We’re proud to continue building on a strong academic foundation and translate lab breakthroughs into technologies to scale new generations of advanced therapies that will make a real difference in biomanufacturing.”

The ligands discovered through this collaboration will be conjugated to a range of resin and membrane formats, which will form part of ChromaGenix’s growing platform of bioprocessing technologies for the purification of modern biological medicines. 

“Our university is excited to collaborate with an industry partner on research to further the commercial potential of this cutting-edge technology, which was born right here on campus,” said Krista Walton, incoming vice chancellor for research and innovation at NC State. “Dr. Menegatti’s work with his NC State spinout company LigaTrap paved the way for purification techniques that could one day revolutionize drug development, and we look forward to seeing what he and the ChromaGenix team accomplish next.”

This R&D collaboration is central to ChromaGenix’s broader $35 million investment strategy to expand its scientific platform, product portfolio and operations, which also includes new manufacturing infrastructure and talent to support global growth. 

“This program continues a productive collaboration and provides a clear path to expand our portfolio of ligands, resins and membranes with strong academic input and world-class scientific rigor,” said Pat Gilbert, chief operating officer of BioProcess360 Partners. “It’s a strategic investment in both commercial innovation and academic excellence here in North Carolina — aimed at accelerating the translation of best-in-class technologies from NC State into solutions that ultimately improve patient outcomes.”