Trilink, specializing in the synthesis of nucleic acids and analogues of arnm ceiling, has owner technology called cleancap which simplifies the manufacturing of mRNA by eliminating additional enzymatic steps, resulting in higher efficiency and better yields. BionTech wanted as much cleancap as to get their hands.
There was only one problem: Trilink had recently moved into a new building in Sorrento Valley, and its term BPF (a term of industry which means “good manufacturing practices”) was not yet operational. Thus, while Greely built his team of five to 45 people to prepare for the increased demand from Biontech, he also had to design a solution that would fill the gap in where Trilink was in his manufacturing capacity where he was going . This involved doing part of their work in a standard chemistry laboratory like those that Greely used at the CSUSM and the rest in a temporary GMP laboratory.
“This allowed us to associate ourselves with Biontech and Pfizer and to say:” Hey, we understand that we are not equipped at the moment to meet your needs, but we will get there “,” said Greely.
As the advanced laboratory installation was completed, Greely and her team were ready to hit the ground. From Valentine’s Day in 2021, they worked 24 hours a day for about eight months to ensure that Biontech had enough cleancap to produce the large quantities of kegs vaccine necessary to inoculate millions of people worldwide.
“It was a huge satisfaction knowing that you help your community, the global population, the whole world,” said Greely. “During the pandemic, some of my main engineers said things like:” I come at 2 am because you call me, because the equipment is broken, and at the end of the day, I want that My daughter can return to school. It was huge.
Greely was prepared for such a period of growth, both personal and professional, due to the training he received at the CSUSM. He remembers a biochemistry course with Professor Kambiz Hamadani who was three units but who seemed to be twice. At the time, Greely felt overwhelmed by the volume of work, but once he was a new employee in Trilink, he suddenly thanked the exhausting experience.
“The principles that Hamadani has taught and the reason that his virtual laboratory covered me prepared me for some of the standard operational procedures that I would see in the laboratory in my first three months at the start of my job,” He declared. “It was indicative for me, the real application of what is taught at CSUSM.”
After having grown up as gangbusters during the pandemic, Trilink contracted in 2023 as the cocodid vaccine demand decreased. But the company has just emerged from a prosperous year fueled by the development of a new iteration of Cleancap which is used by industry partners for cellular and gene therapy that could help cure diseases.
“Whenever I ask someone, they always ask me,” What do you like in Trilink? ” Said Greely. “And my answer always remains the same: I never bother it. It is a question of pushing to this new reference, of cleaning this next obstacle, of seeing how far we can take our intellectual property for the improvement of human experience. »»