Deniz Kent
Deniz Kent, PhD is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Prolific Machines, a biotechnology company ushering in a new era of biotechnology using light. Founded in 2020, the Bay Area company is redefining biologics manufacturing with its pioneering Photomolecular platform, leveraging proprietary optogenetic tools and closed-loop control software to solve major protein production challenges across difficult-to-produce protein and antibody therapeutics. Deniz cultivated expertise in biological systems through academic research and professional innovation. He earned his PhD in the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at King's College London. Prior to his PhD, Deniz had worked in a cancer immunotherapy lab at the University of Bristol and worked on a single-dose cure for Asthma at GlaxoSmithKline. He also received his master’s degree in biomedical and translational science from King’s College London and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Bristol.
Prolific Machines
Harnessing Light for Precision Manufacturing of Biopharmaceuticals
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The latest generation of biologics are becoming increasingly difficult and costly to produce using conventional mammalian systems. These rely on constitutive “always on” expression of the target gene, which can overwhelm cellular machinery, limiting protein yield and driving up production costs —especially for complex or toxic proteins. These obstacles can be overcome using molecular optogenetics, a technology that employs genetically encoded, light-sensitive proteins to precisely control gene expression. By decoupling growth from production, cells can first reach high density before switching to efficient protein expression. Coupling this with closed-loop control enables the ability to dynamically tune protein expression to maximize titer, improving manufacturability. This session will discuss how the development of optogenetically-enabled cell lines and bioprocessing can be used to accelerate the production of next-generation biologics.
