Codex DNA Demonstrates Simple, Scalable, and Cell-Free Approach to Rapid mRNA Vaccine Design and Development at World Vaccine Congress Washington 2022

Automated benchtop BioXp™ system offers significant quality, time, and cost advantages for DNA and mRNA synthesis compared to alternative options SAN DIEGO, April 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Codex DNA, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNAY), a pioneer in automated benchtop synthetic biology systems, today announced its speaker presentation for the World Vaccine Congress Washington 2022, which is being held in Washington, DC. on April 18-21, 2022. The company will be showcasing its automated benchtop workstation – the BioXp™ system and it’s automated solutions for accelerating vaccine discovery workflows at booth #202. The need for rapid vaccine development in response to emerging pathogens has become increasingly clear during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, traditional vaccine discovery, development, and production methods can be complicated for manufacturers, regulators, and public health officials, especially for endemic viruses that require adjustments to counter ongoing antigenic variation. Codex DNA’s automated solution currently supports rapid DNA and mRNA synthesis from digital sequence in a single automated run. The BioXp 3250 system enables customers to synthesize high-quality DNA and biologically active mRNA within 24 hours, reducing turnaround time from weeks to days, increasing throughput and scale, enhancing quality, and giving researchers complete workflow control. Codex DNA also expects it’s proprietary Short Oligonucleotide Ligation Assembly (SOLA) Enzymatic DNA Synthesis (EDS) approach will further enable on-demand synthesis of DNA, mRNA and protein and shorten the timeline for discovery and development of mRNA-based vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, and personalized medicines.

Codex DNA and RNAimmune have been working together to optimize the development and validation of Codex DNA’s future mRNA synthesis kits. In this effort, the two companies will also address the integration of RNAimmune’s proprietary mRNA delivery solutions into Codex DNA’s automated workflows to further streamline the vaccine discovery process. “We are excited to work with Codex DNA to accelerate breakthroughs using mRNA platforms. Together, we can incorporate our proprietary carrier molecules into Codex DNA’s mRNA synthesis kits to improve automated production toward truly transfection-ready mRNA with enhanced uptake and expression,” said Dong Shen, Ph.D, CEO of RNAimmune. RNAimmune will showcase the design and development of their novel Pan-Ras mRNA vaccine for cancer therapy at the conference and also highlight the use of the BioXp™ system in accelerating their discovery workflows.

FEATURED CUSTOMER PRESENTATION: Targeting KRAS mutations in cancer: new mRNA vaccine on the horizon
Track: Cancer and Immunotherapy
Presenter: Dong Shen, MD, PhD​, President & CEO, RNAimmune​
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 20, 3:40 pm
Location: M4, Liberty Salon I-K “Together with RNAimmune, we are empowering our customers to design, develop, and produce safe, high-quality vaccines faster than ever before,” said Todd R. Nelson, PhD, CEO of Codex DNA. “I’m excited for conference attendees to hear directly from Dr. Shen about the impressive work being done in mRNA vaccines. Our sustainable, scalable, and cost-effective approach has the potential to completely transform how the world responds to emerging viral threats in the future.” Codex DNA currently offers a catalog of synthetic genomes, including SARS-CoV-2, for research use for monoclonal antibody treatments, small-molecule therapies, diagnostic assays, and new vaccines against specific variants. For more information, please visit the following link.

About Codex DNA Codex DNA is empowering scientists with the ability to create novel, synthetic biology-enabled solutions for many of humanity’s greatest challenges. As inventors of the industry-standard Gibson Assembly^® method and the first commercial automated benchtop DNA and mRNA synthesis system, Codex DNA is enabling rapid, accurate and reproducible writing of DNA and mRNA for numerous downstream markets. The award-winning BioXp™ system consolidates, automates and optimizes the entire synthesis, cloning and amplification workflow. As a result, it delivers virtually error-free synthesis of DNA and RNA at scale within days and hours instead of weeks or months. Scientists around the world are using the technology in their own laboratories to accelerate the design-build-test paradigm for novel, high-value products for precision medicine, biologics drug discovery, vaccine and therapeutic development, genome editing, and cell and gene therapy. Codex DNA is a public company based in San Diego. For more information, visit codexdna.com. Codex DNA, the Codex DNA logo, Gibson Assembly, and BioXp are trademarks of Codex DNA Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained herein are forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include statements regarding Codex DNA’s progress made on achieving corporate goals and the future release of products and services. Such statements are based on current assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Codex DNA’s control, include risks described in Codex DNA’s public filings, specifically the section entitled Risk Factors and elsewhere in its annual Report on Form 10-K, which is anticipated to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 23, 2022. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and should not be unduly relied upon. Codex DNA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Media Contact Richard D. Lepke Director, Investor Relations ir@codexdna.com