GeneOne Life Science Inc. said Friday it has signed a contract to supply plasmid DNA therapy worth $2 million to a U.S. biopharmaceutical company.

GeneOne’s subsidiary VGXI, a leading plasmid DNA manufacturer located in Texas, will supply the drugs to the American market under the contract. The name of the U.S. firm is confidential due to contractual reasons, a GeneOne official told Korea Biomedical Review.

A plasmid is a small, extrachromosomal DNA molecule in a single cell, physically separated from chromosomal DNA, which replicates independently. It may be used for gene transferring as a potential treatment in gene therapy. 

Due to the strikingly noticeable growth in gene therapy research and development worldwide, the demand for cGMP of Plasmid DNA, a raw material for producing gene therapy drugs, is increasing at a rapid pace, a GeneOne official said. These DNAs are used to manufacture adeno-specific virus gene therapy, CAR-T gene therapy, and genetic scissors therapy.

GeneOne is constructing new facilities at its production facility sites in Texas, such as quality assessment laboratories, refining and charging, packaging facilities, and working offices and convenient facilities to increase the quality of its products, according to the company.

“We expect our partner, VGXI, to supply more of our high-quality plasmids in large quantity, as a leading manufacturer,” GeneOne CEO Park Young-keun said.