SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 3, 2025 - AGC Biologics is expanding its Cell Line Development Center of Excellence through a new partnership with ATUM, integrating the Leap-In Transposase® expression platform to help biopharma developers move monoclonal antibodies and complex next-generation biologics into the clinic faster and more cost-effectively.
New options for faster, more flexible cell line development
As pressure grows to launch high-value biologics at lower cost, drug sponsors are looking for cell line development (CLD) solutions that combine speed, robustness and scalability. AGC Biologics' collaboration with ATUM adds a modern transposase-based expression platform to its CLD toolkit, creating a menu of fit-for-purpose options for standard monoclonals, multi-specific antibodies and other complex molecules.
By offering Leap-In® alongside existing platforms, AGC Biologics can better match technology choice to project needs-deploying high-speed, high-yield systems where timelines are critical, and cost-optimized approaches where development speed is less of a constraint. The goal is to give sponsors more flexibility in how they balance risk, cost and time to first-in-human studies.
"We are acutely aware of the dual pressures our customers face: the need to innovate with increasingly complex molecules, and the simultaneous demand to get to the clinic faster and more cost-effectively than ever before," said Kasper Møller, Chief Technical Officer, AGC Biologics. "Our partnership with ATUM is a direct response to that need. We are not just adding a new technology; we are providing our customers with more options and flexibility. Our plan is to fully integrate the miCHO® and Leap-In technologies and continue to optimize them, ensuring we can help our partners navigate their challenges and succeed."
Leap-In Transposase®: compressing timelines by months
ATUM's Leap-In platform uses a transposase-based mechanism to stably integrate DNA into the host cell genome, generating highly productive and genetically stable pools and clones. In practice, implementing Leap-In in CLD and process development can reduce overall timelines by around three months on average.
A particular advantage is that the high-quality stable pools created with Leap-In are strongly predictive of final clonal titers. This allows sponsors and CDMOs to:
- Start critical process development and analytical work earlier
- Reduce the risk of major performance shifts when moving from pool to clone
- Make earlier go/no-go and scale-up decisions based on realistic productivity data
"We developed the miCHO® cell line and Leap-In Transposase® to improve expression robustness, maximize efficiency and increase speed to clinic," said Claes Gustafsson, Co-Founder, ATUM. "The platform was designed with complex biologics manufacturing in mind. The combination of our enabling technology with AGC Biologics' deep manufacturing expertise will create an exceptional offering for the industry."
Building on CHEF1® and a global CLD network
The ATUM collaboration builds on AGC Biologics' CHEF1® Expression Technology, which has already supported five commercially approved products, and extends the company's ability to support increasingly sophisticated modalities. With miCHO®, Leap-In® and CHEF1® in a combined portfolio, AGC Biologics can tailor CLD programs to the specific attributes of each molecule, as well as the sponsor's budget and launch strategy.
These integrated CLD services are available across AGC Biologics' global network of sites in the United States, Europe and Asia, ensuring regional proximity alongside harmonized technical standards. For sponsors with global pipelines, a common CLD framework across geographies can simplify tech transfers, reduce variability and support long-term lifecycle management.
Strategic implications for next-generation antibody pipelines
As pipelines shift toward multi-specifics, Fc-engineered antibodies and complex fusion proteins, CLD platforms must handle higher structural complexity without sacrificing stability or yield. By combining ATUM's cell engineering capabilities with AGC Biologics' process development and GMP manufacturing experience, the partnership is positioned to support:
- Antibodies engineered to kill solid tumors more efficiently
- Biologics designed to fight viral infections with enhanced potency
- Precision immunomodulators for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases
For biopharma R&D and CMC teams, the integrated offering promises a shorter and more predictable route from DNA construct to manufacturing-ready cell line, with fewer handoffs and clearer data for regulatory interactions.
To learn more about AGC Biologics' cell line development services, visit https://www.agcbio.com/capabilities/process-development/cell-line-development.