Ingenza develops Bacillus-based protein production system to rival E. coli

13 January 2026 -- Edinburgh, UK -- Ingenza – a world-leading leading engineering biology CRDMO based in Edinburgh, Scotland – has developed GenXpress Bacillus, a powerful orthogonal protein production system. With performance comparable to the best E. coli expression systems, the new technology offers Ingenza customers a highly productive alternative that is free from endotoxins and antibiotic resistance markers. GenXpress Bacillus has applications across diverse industries, ranging from pharmaceuticals to industrial processes, and can be used to produce virtually any protein, improving yields while reducing costs and regulatory hurdles.

Bacillus species secrete proteins significantly better than E. coli, allowing higher yields and increasing the ease of recovery of expressed proteins. Ingenza has combined its existing innovations in Bacillus subtilis – including its codABLE gene design algorithm and BINGO protease-free platform – with its extensive experience in efficient gene integration and strain construction across numerous hosts to develop this new system that achieves chromosomal-driven productivity exceeding that of plasmid-driven performance. Rita Cruz, Head of Strain and Cell Line Development explained: “The system is highly productive, antibiotic resistance marker-free, endotoxin-free and has GRAS status, which are all advantages over E. coli-based expression systems. It is compatible with very low cost induction and culture strategies and is great at secreting proteins – it’s a versatile powerhouse for biomanufacturing.”

Ingenza has used the system successfully in a number of high value programmes, collaborating with world-leading organisations to generate vaccine components, industrial enzymes and prebiotics. Ian Fotheringham, President and Founder, added: “GenXpress Bacillus represents the next generation of protein production systems. With this new technology, Ingenza is not only able to design the gene in the optimal way but express the product at the highest level: we know of no other orthogonal systems in Bacillus as powerful.”

About Ingenza
Ingenza is changing the game in product development with its innovative inGenius CMC platform. The platform leverages 12 alternative host systems, customised gene design (codABLE) and high throughput screening (visABLE) to develop and optimise bioprocesses for a range of products, from therapeutics to industrial enzymes and consumer goods. By combining DoE and tailored fermentations, the inGenius CMC platform increases predictability to rapidly advance targets to clinical studies and commercialisation. As an engineering biology CRDMO and pipeline accelerator, Ingenza provides fast, efficient and cost-effective solutions to advance your novel targets.For more information, visit www.ingenza.com.