About Us
Developing protein therapeutics to provide patients a better future.
- Mycogen acquired by The Dow Chemical Company- initiation of P. fluorescens platform development
Enabled by our proprietary protein production platform, Pelican Expression Technology®, we are helping our partners develop the next generation of protein therapeutics to meaningfully improve existing treatment paradigms and create novel therapies for biological targets linked to critical diseases still in need of effective therapeutic intervention.
We have over 20 years of experience in developing protein therapeutics from concept-to-clinic with a commercially proven platform that enables rapid candidate selection and accelerated CMC development for a wide range of complex modalities.
Our Heritage
Validated
A regulatory and clinically validated platform with FDA, EU, and multiple ROW approved products and several partnered programs nearing commercialization (Jazz, Merck and SIIPL).
Versatile
90-100% success in achieving high quality and titer for Fabs, engineered antibody derivatives, non-antibody binding modalities and vaccine antigens. Over 175 lead proteins, including difficult-to-produce proteins that failed to express in E.coli, yeast, and mammalian cells such as CHO have been successfully produced using Pelican Expression Technology®
Experienced
Over 20 years of development, partnering, and clinical development experience derived from 60+ collaborations with biopharmaceutical companies, including a majority of the top 15 pharmaceutical companies with deep experience in the production of recombinant proteins used in human therapeutics.
Scientific and Operational Leadership
Diane Retallack, PhD
SVP, Platform Technology and Innovation
Diane Retallack, PhD has over 25 years experience in molecular biology, microbial genetics and protein expression. As a founding member of the team that established the Pelican Expression Technology® platform within Dow Chemical Company, she has contributed to partnered and internal programs focused on strain engineering and upstream processing, supporting CMC development through regulatory filing. An inventor on over 70 granted patents and over 35 active patent applications, she actively managed the Pelican Expression Technology® patent portfolio following the spin out from Dow, expanding the platform and product related intellectual property estate. Dr. Retallack earned her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Michigan, completed post-doctoral studies in the Medical Microbiology and Immunology department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a registered patent agent.
Jeff Allen, PhD
VP, Protein Sciences
Jeff Allen, PhD was a founding member of the Pelican team responsible for analytical development, detailed protein product characterization, downstream processing, and regulatory CMC to support internal and partnered programs. Now with Ligand, Dr. Allen supports current and new partnerships and collaborations for Pelican Expression Technology®, providing scientific oversight and input to the continued growth, innovation, and technical assessment of new opportunities. Dr. Allen has more than 25 years of experience in protein biochemistry having held positions as R&D Leader of Analytical Biochemistry and Senior R&D Biochemist at DowPharma, a business within The Dow Chemical Company, prior to forming Pfenex in 2009. He joined Dow in 1999 where his main responsibilities included R&D support in Dow’s Human Health and Diagnostics platform. Dr. Allen has authored and contributed to multiple publications, presentations, global regulatory filings, and patents and holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Utah State University, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Keith Haney
VP, Operations
Keith Haney, Vice President of Development Operations, leads our technology transfer, manufacturing, quality, and project and alliance management teams. Joining Mycogen Corporation in 1992, Mr. Haney performed in roles supporting discovery and process development including multiple agricultural products utilizing Pseudomonas fluorescens to deliver insecticidal proteins. Following the acquisition of Mycogen by The Dow Chemical Company, Mr. Haney developed fermentation processes for internal projects and client programs utilizing the Pelican Expression Technology® for both industrial and pharmaceutical applications. Subsequently, he has transferred a number of processes into cGMP manufacturing facilities and had the opportunity to lead cross-functional product development teams, including the team which developed Bonsity™, Pelican’s first commercial product. Mr. Haney has contributed to multiple publications and patents and holds a BA in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara.