Mammalian

AtaGenix's mammalian protein expression platform offers both transient and stable production routes using CHO and HEK293 host cells. Mammalian expression ensures native post-translational modifications — including complex N-linked glycosylation, disulfide bond formation, and proper folding — critical for therapeutic antibodies, Fc-fusion proteins, receptor ectodomains, and viral antigens.

>7 g/L

CHO Stable Titer

~2 wks

Transient Delivery

XtenCHO™

Proprietary High-Density System

200L

Scale-Up Capacity

Our proprietary XtenCHO™ high-density expression system is specifically optimized for difficult-to-express proteins, delivering higher titers and faster development timelines compared to standard CHO platforms. Choose transient expression for rapid milligram-scale delivery (screening, SPR, animal studies), or stable cell line development for consistent gram-scale supply (preclinical, manufacturing).

Choose Your Mammalian Expression Route

Service	Best For	Timeline	Scale
CHO Transient	Manufacturing-representative glycosylation; XtenCHO™ for difficult proteins; therapeutic Ab screening	~2 weeks	mg–100s mg
HEK293 Transient	Human-type glycosylation; gene therapy proteins; viral antigens; receptor ectodomains; rapid turnaround	~2 weeks	mg–100s mg
CHO Stable Cell Line	Long-term gram-scale supply; manufacturing-ready; clonal cell line; Research Cell Bank; GS/DHFR selection	4–6 months	g–multi-g

CHO vs. HEK293: How to Choose

Factor	CHO	HEK293
Glycosylation	Manufacturing-representative (matches commercial biologic production)	Human-type (higher sialylation, bisecting GlcNAc)
Best For Proteins	Therapeutic antibodies, Fc-fusions, biosimilars	Viral antigens, gene therapy proteins, receptor ectodomains, complex multi-subunit
Stable Cell Line	Available (GS/DHFR selection, >7 g/L fed-batch)	Possible but CHO preferred for manufacturing
Regulatory Path	Preferred for IND/BLA (most approved biologics use CHO)	Accepted for gene therapy and some biologics
Transfection Efficiency	Good (XtenCHO™ optimized)	Excellent (high transfection efficiency, fast expression)

XtenCHO™ Proprietary System

Our high-density CHO transient system delivers consistently higher titers than standard CHO platforms, especially for difficult-to-express proteins. Optimized media, transfection protocol, and cell line enable mg-scale production in just 2 weeks.

Transient-to-Stable Upgrade Path

Start with transient expression to validate your protein, then seamlessly transition to CHO stable cell line development when you need gram-scale supply. Same vector backbone, same expression system — no re-optimization needed.

Scale-Up to 200L

From transient milligram-scale to 200L bioreactor production. Fed-batch optimization, process parameter transfer, and full QC documentation for preclinical and early clinical material supply.