HOLLISTER, Calif., May 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alpha Teknova, Inc. (“Teknova”) (Nasdaq: TKNO), a leading producer of critical reagents for the research, discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapies, vaccines, and molecular diagnostics, today launched the Company's first proprietary product line, AAV-Tek™ Solutions, specifically created to address critical pain points in the AAV gene therapy development workflow. The first product released in this line – the AAV-Tek AEX Buffer Screening Kit – is available for purchase today and can save gene therapy developers months of process development time.

The AAV-Tek AEX Buffer Screening Kit, developed by Teknova’s Research and Development team, is a proprietary, off-the-shelf selection of discrete buffers that significantly reduces the time it takes to find the ideal buffer formulation to optimize the separation of empty and full capsids during the anion exchange (AEX) purification step. After conducting a robust design of experiments with hundreds of AEX runs, including extensive validation against four critical quality attributes (infectivity, recovery, purity, and peak separation), Teknova identified and verified a set of seven equilibration and elution buffers optimized for use across a variety of upstream workflows, transgenes, and downstream purification platforms.

“Launching our first proprietary product line, AAV-Tek Solutions, is a momentous milestone and a direct result of demonstrating our team's expertise in the end-to-end AAV gene therapy workflow,” said Stephen Gunstream, Teknova’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We repeatedly hear from customers that separation of capsids is challenging and time consuming, limiting the pace of innovation, and ultimately the delivery of life changing therapies to patients. By addressing key bioprocessing bottlenecks with new, custom products, we can collaborate closely with our customers to help accelerate breakthroughs. Our first product, the AAV-Tek AEX Buffer Screening Kit, was created to optimize the purification process and is one-of-a-kind in the industry. I’m confident it will be a game-changer for gene therapy developers.”

By removing the need for repeated and extensive buffer formulation exploration, the AAV-Tek AEX Buffer Screening Kit can save gene therapy developers working with AAV2 months in their development timelines, enabling them to discover novel breakthroughs faster. Developers are able to seamlessly scale from process development to clinical production by leveraging Teknova’s industry-leading modular manufacturing platform, hands-on scientific and technical support teams, and more than 25 years of experience in reagents bioprocessing production.

The AAV-Tek AEX Buffer Screening Kit for AAV2 is available today for purchase via phone, email, or online, and is priced at $1,200. Additionally, Teknova will release a kit for AAV8 in the coming months and kits to address additional serotypes later this year.

For more information about the AAV-Tek AEX Buffer Screening Kit or to purchase it online, visit http://www.teknova.com/AAV2.

ABOUT TEKNOVA

Teknova makes solutions possible. Since 1996, Teknova has been innovating the manufacture of critical reagents for the life sciences industry to accelerate the discovery and development of novel therapies that will help people live longer, healthier lives. We offer fully customizable solutions for every stage of the workflow, supporting industry leaders in cell and gene therapy, molecular diagnostics, and synthetic biology. Our fast turnaround of high-quality agar plates, microbial culture media, buffers and reagents, and water helps our customers scale seamlessly from RUO to GMP. Headquartered in Hollister, California, with over 200,000 square feet of state-of-the-art facilities, Teknova’s modular manufacturing platform was designed by our team of scientists, engineers, and quality control experts to efficiently produce the foundational ingredients for the discovery and commercialization of novel therapies.