Nature’s Toolbox
Providing Scalable Solutions for Global Health

After earning a Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry from the University of Frankfurt and conducting a Postdoc at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Alex Koglin pursued a J. Robert Oppenheimer Fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratory. His mission was to develop compounds crucial for the production of tuberculosis treatments on a global scale. Unfortunately, the prevailing technologies proved inadequate in terms of cost-effectiveness. Even smallscale drug testing and development demanded significant quantities of synthesized or cultured materials, leading to substantial waste and financial burden.

Koglin founded Nature’s Toolbox (NTx) to address these production and scale challenges. From the outset, the company focused on early-stage life sciences and bioinformatics. Soon, NTx developed a revolutionary way to deliver accessible life science tools using in vitro synthetic biology. By developing proprietary technologies with cell-free synthetic biology, it offered clients a means to significantly enhance and streamline the production of previously challenging compounds. It then concentrated on scale, cost, and ease of use, resulting in a unique, recombinant continuous flow method.

This continuous production method eliminated the need for batch reactors, increasing yield and scalability. A reactor could operate longer and facilitate better material exchange, resulting in more predictable outcomes. NTx developed a process with a significantly reduced footprint that could achieve maximum performance, as the material remained in the reactor and established steady-state conditions.

Scalability distinguishes NTx. Processes are easier to scale and initiate because it is an all-in-one system, eliminating the need to switch between standard steel vessels. The continuous flow vessel enables a process “autobahn” without the need to exit for gas.

“We have people with backgrounds in chemistry, molecular biology, chemical engineering, and technology. I’m a computational chemist. We have a team with diverse expertise and a cross-functional understanding of the life sciences and other industries, which allows us to build integrated systems. That’s a unique aspect we bring to the table,” says Dr. James Coffin, CEO of NTx.

The systems are designed to ensure consistent production quality at any scale. As a result, they can adapt to real-time needs on the ground. The modular components enable users to transition from one therapeutic to another without building an entirely new system, offering significant cost savings without compromising speed.

NTx’s technologies are expected to excel in the field of personalized vaccines. Their inherent flexibility will enable the production of personalized cancer vaccines at more affordable costs than conventional technologies, leading to improved health outcomes.

Organizations and governments with limited budgets, previously unable to acquire other systems due to prohibitive costs and labor constraints, will be able to integrate these systems where they are most needed. The intent is to automate the systems with process controls and remote operability to enable ease of use.

We have people with backgrounds in chemistry, molecular biology, chemical engineering, and technology. I’m a computational chemist. We have a team with diverse expertise and a crossfunctional understanding of the life sciences and other industries, which allows us to build integrated systems. That’s a unique aspect we bring to the table

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant vulnerabilities in the global supply chain. Bearing these weaknesses in mind, NTx’s systems are modular, vertically integrated, and independent of third-party vendors for critical materials. This approach allows NTx to collaborate directly with partners to construct systems tailored to their immediate needs, providing end-to-end support.

Near-immediate pandemic response and personalized therapies have the potential to completely transform the requirements for biomanufacturing. Dr. Alex Koglin and Dr. Coffin are enthusiastic about the possibilities. NTx’s technologies offer solutions that combine speed, cost, scalability, and quality improvements that can enable distributed manufacturing of therapeutics where they are needed, when they are needed. This is something that we can all hope for the future of medicine.