BacMam technology and its application to drug discovery

The recombinant baculovirus/insect cell system was firmly established as a leading method for recombinant protein production when a new potential use for these viruses was revealed in 1995. It was reported that engineered recombinant baculoviruses could deliver functional expression cassettes to mammalian cell types; a system which has come to be known as BacMam gene delivery. In the field of high-throughput screening the failure of many common transient gene delivery methods in reproducibility and cell survival has caused investigators to routinely apply stable cell lines in support of cell-based assays. The ease of use, versatility, safety and economics of the BacMam system makes transient gene delivery a viable option in the high-throughput screening setting and in most instances circumvents many of the limitations of stable cell lines. Although a few pharmaceutical companies have embraced the technology, its use is poised to become more widespread with increased familiarity and the emergence of enabling products based on the BacMam system.