Patent Protection

Having isolated the best strains through the QTL optimisation process, the QTL analysis identifies the genetic variants responsible for the improved phenotype, e.g. by reciprocal hemizygosity analysis. This novel information frequently allows patent protection for the optimum baker’s yeast strain which also relates to homologous eukaryotic systems, e.g., Pichia pastoris, filamentous fungi, and mammalian systems. Because each product presents a different range of challenges to the expression host, intellectual property specific to a particular protein can also be generated, which is especially advantageous in biosimilar markets.