New enzyme technologies are seen to enhance cost-efficiencies and productivity. Enzymes with the desired activity under industrial conditions are obtained by optimizing processes and protein engineering. These cannot be obtained with traditional chemical treatment. Therefore there is a growing interest in substituting organic compounds with enzymes, stated Naveen Kulkarni, CEO, Quantumzyme.
 
The technology start-up Quantumzyme which developed the Qzyme Benchwork platform is an engineering partner for many pharma companies. It helps pharma companies shift from chemistry-based synthesis to the enzymatic route.  
 
Present computational methods provide only half the information from static data. It does not reveal the kinetic property of the enzyme. Most of the computational methods used to reveal hotspots are based on the Enzyme-Substrate (E-S) interactions and not on the dynamics of enzymatic reaction.
 
At the fundamental level all things are quantum. These are built from the quantized states and rules that govern atoms. Most computational tools focus on data analysis and interpretation. Generally, the biological information is lost due to the static nature of information, making it difficult to understand the behaviour of macromolecules in motion and in lab experiments. The only way to see these reactions in motion is with a combination of Quantum Mechanics, Molecular Modelling and Molecular Dynamics as it resolves the bottlenecks and designs an efficient molecule, he added.
 
“As a technology company from India, it is an uphill task to convince large players about our platform and its benefits. That said, we received a positive response from the investment community as we recently closed a seed funding. We are awaiting for the first few customer project cycles to be completed to understand the market dynamics better”, Kulkarni told Pharmabiz.
 
The Bengaluru-based Quantumzyme is in revenue mode. Most of its customers are either enzyme or pharmaceutical companies. It will also focus on generic drug manufacturers contemplating to move away from the tedious and time-consuming chemistry-based synthesis programs. Its team of over 15 staff include doctorates in Enzymology, bioinformatics, material science and quantum chemistry.
 
In a bid to successfully deliver its expertise, it has partnered with Skanda Lifesciences to support its laboratory infrastructure.  JSS University is its academic partner to access post graduates for internship and for many of its employees to pursue PhD. It has also associated with Prof. Uwe Bornscheuer, Head, Biocatalysis Department, University of Greifswald for research projects.  “While there are several enzyme engineering companies globally, Quantumzyme is the only one to apply QM, MM, MD in a hybrid model to solve enzyme engineering problems,” stated Kulkarni.