NEW YORK, Nov. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neion Bio, a biotechnology company revolutionizing the production of biologic medicines, today announced the appointment of John A. Maga, Ph.D., as Head of Biologics and CMC. Dr. Maga brings more than 25 years of experience in biopharmaceutical development, including nearly 15 years at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, where he held senior leadership roles across analytical and process sciences. At Neion, he will lead biologics development and help expand the company’s capabilities to support partners co-developing complex and differentiated therapeutic proteins.
“Raptor was built to fundamentally improve how biologics are produced, combining compelling economics and scalability with the sophisticated protein processing capabilities of a complex biological system,” said Sam Levin, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Neion Bio. “The natural biology of the chicken and egg also gives us a remarkable production environment, with characteristics that are especially valuable for certain complex and innovative proteins. John brings deep experience solving the development challenges that determine whether promising biologics can be manufactured robustly and advanced successfully. He will help us expand those capabilities and work with partners to explore where Raptor can bring meaningful advantages to their programs.”
Neion’s Raptor™ platform uses precision genetic engineering to produce recombinant proteins in the egg white of transgenic chickens. The platform is designed to enable extremely low cost production, scalable expansion through flock growth and limited capital requirements, while also taking advantage of the sophisticated protein processing capabilities of avian biology. The chicken oviduct is a highly specialized protein production organ, and the egg provides a large extracellular environment with low endogenous proteolytic activity. Together, these features create a highly capable production system that Neion believes can support a broad range of biologics, including programs where protein integrity, post translational processing or biological activity present particular development challenges.
“Most biopharmaceutical manufacturing has been built around a small number of workhorse systems, particularly Chinese hamster ovary cells, because those are what the industry has learned to scale over the past several decades,” said Maga. “Throughout my career, I have seen how new technologies can change what is possible in drug development, particularly when they allow us to approach longstanding problems in fundamentally new ways. What excites me about the Raptor platform is that it opens up an entirely new realm of biological possibility. I believe it has the potential to transform the biotech industry, not just through scale, cost and resiliency, but by enabling new approaches to biologic development itself.”
At BioMarin, Maga built and led development organizations spanning an unusually broad range of modalities, including oligonucleotides, gene therapies, recombinant proteins, monoclonal antibodies, peptides, and small molecules, guiding programs from early development through commercial approval. His work included steering technical and regulatory strategy behind two commercial approvals, alongside major regulatory filings and the growth of teams and capabilities across the CMC organization. He joined BioMarin in 2010 when the company acquired ZyStor Therapeutics, where he had spent the previous decade developing protein targeting technologies for lysosomal storage diseases and advancing the company's lead program to an open IND, following earlier work at Symbiontics.
About Neion Bio
Neion Bio is pioneering a new era in biomanufacturing, using frontier genetic engineering to harness nature’s most prolific molecular factory – the egg – to produce biological medicines with unprecedented efficiency, scalability, and environmental sustainability. Founded in 2024, Neion aims to dramatically lower the cost of biologics manufacturing to spur biotech innovation and democratize global access to life-changing therapies. Neion’s Raptor™ platform enables localized, resilient domestic manufacturing of critical medicines, strengthening national security while unlocking significant commercial opportunities. Led by a multidisciplinary team of scientists and industry veterans with deep expertise in genetic engineering, biologics manufacturing, and commercialization, Neion is building a platform designed to reset the boundaries of what is possible in biomanufacturing. The company aims to become the partner of choice for upstream biologics manufacturing and deliver transformational advantages for the biotech industry and patients worldwide.
Neion Bio Contacts:
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/676dd7b8-7c25-4930-af61-75f2b8415d0f
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c60c8749-bfeb-42c0-845b-2dfd587a0e57
