Evonik, a specialty chemicals company headquartered in Essen, Germany, and evitria, a Zurich, Switzerland-based company specializing in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-based antibody expression, have partnered to launch a ready-to-use protein expression kit intended to support early-stage biologics research and development.

The eviCHO expression kit is based on CHO-K1 cells and is designed to simplify transient protein expression by providing prequalified components and standardized protocols. The kit is reportedly intended to reduce troubleshooting and shorten the time required to produce proteins such as antibodies for research applications.

Transient protein expression allows researchers to rapidly produce proteins without establishing stable cell lines, a process commonly used during early-stage biologics development, according to the announcement.

Evitria said it has performed more than 125,000 CHO cell transfections and produced more than 25,000 antibodies and antibody-based molecules for customers in academia, biotechnology, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Stefan Schmidt, CEO of evitria and the Atlas Antibodies Group, said in a statement that the kit enables researchers to generate more consistent protein expression results in their own laboratories.

According to Evonik, the collaboration expands its Advance Precision Biosolutions portfolio, which supplies chemically defined, non-animal-derived materials for biopharmaceutical manufacturing. The company also noted the evitria partnership builds on its biologics strategy, which also included a 2025 collaboration with recombinant protein developer InVitria.

The announcement follows recent investments by Evonik in its pharmaceutical manufacturing network. Earlier this month, the company announced a $100 million investment to modernize its drug substance contract manufacturing facility in Indiana, upgrading manufacturing assets to support growing demand for U.S.-based CDMO services and production of increasingly complex active pharmaceutical ingredients.

The investment followed a separate $93 million expansion announced in April at Evonik’s biotechnology site in Slovakia, to add downstream fermentation capacity for drug substance manufacturing.