ORF Genetics is an Icelandic company specializing in the genetic modification of plants so that they will produce high-value proteins at minimal expense. Modern genetic engineering techniques enable plants to form proteins in specific tissues or organs such as their seeds, leaves or roots. ORF focuses on the barley plant for this purpose, since it has excellent potential for the industrial production of proteins.

Proteins of high value include established therapeutic drugs such as insulin, as well as the fast-growing classes of antibodies and peptides. Another group of proteins is industrial enzymes, applied on a massive scale in a wide variety of commercial processes.

Producing proteins in transgenic plants costs much less than conventional means of protein manufacture, which typically require expensive, complex facilities offering limited flexibility.

Molecular farming through plants

Furthermore, plants are ideal bioreactors because of not harboring microorganisms, viruses or prions that are potentially harmful to humans. With bacteria or animal cells, special precautions are required to avoid such infective agents. For this reason, proteins derived from transgenic plants are vastly safer than from traditional bioreactors.

Plants as bioreactors

ORF Genetics emphasizes safety in its operations, epitomized by the automatic containment which cultivating transgenic barley in Iceland ensures.

ORF Genetics mission and values

Our mission is to provide our customers with a comprehensive solution for producing recombinant proteins.

We understand that our customers in the pharmaceutical industry strive for their proteins to be manufactured in an efficient system that is void of inherent limitations, not only during development (the short term) but also during full-scale production after entering the market (the long term). In addition, we have designed our system to be cost-competitive for our clients, even after patents expire and generics join the market.

Every aspect of ORF’s business idea was examined upon founding the company, and the limitations involved in competing production systems were analyzed. Based on this analysis, a plan was drawn up to develop a production system which would address all these restrictions through a comprehensive approach.

The pharmaceutical business is the primary target, although other industry, agriculture and further sectors will be served as well.

The company is committed to creating value for its shareholders, employees, business partners and suppliers.