Author Archives: Jonas Wege

Intensification of Fab-Fragment Purification: Multicolumn Chromatography Using Prepacked Protein L Columns

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Antibody fragments — such as fragment antigen-binding (Fab) domains, single-chain variable fragments (ScFvs), and heavy-chain variable domains (nanobodies) — have emerged as increasingly important therapeutic and diagnostic alternatives to full-length monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) for a multitude of diseases. Whereas MAb downstream processing is well established and easy to scale based on protein A capture, the purification of antibody fragments is just on the verge of standardized processing. The most promising candidate for effective capture of those containing a kappa light…

June 26, 2023

Two-Step Monoclonal Antibody Purification Using a Multicolumn Continuous Chromatography Platform

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Biomanufacturers typically have relied on multistep processes for optimal removal of impurities such as host-cell proteins (HCPs), DNA, adventitious viruses, and aggregates. However, additional purification steps increase downstream expenses significantly, including costs of supplementary resin, hardware, and buffers. The substantial footprint required at a processing site and additional time needed to perform a complete multistep purification process also increase production costs and complicate process execution. Thus, it is imperative to design and test effective purification procedures for high-quality biotherapeutics, but…

October 20, 2022

New Antibody Formats on the Block:
More Complex Modalities Demand Innovation in Manufacturing and Purification

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Some of the latest, most promising therapeutic developments in the biologics industry use antibody fragments — either separate functional subunits of antibodies or recombinant molecules that are composed of immunoglobulin domains. The most popular fragments are antigen-binding fragments (Fabs), variable single-chain fragments (scFvs), diabodies, and nanobodies. Such molecules raise several advantages over their parent molecules for upstream production but pose several challenges for downstream purification. To facilitate antibody-fragment capture, Tosoh Bioscience has developed Toyopearl AF-rProtein L-650F resin. Its ligand uses…

September 3, 2021

How to Improve the Capturing of Antibody Fragments

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Some of the latest promising biopharmaceutical drug substances are antibody fragments. Antibody fragments are either separate functional subunits of antibodies or recombinant molecules, which, just like antibodies, are composed of immunoglobulin domains. These drugs offer several therapeutic advantages over conventional monoclonal antibodies. Upstream processing for antibody fragments is easier than it is for standard antibodies. Recombinant-based antibody fragments can be modified to meet specific needs of affinity, avidity, valence, and action mode. They also can be produced in prokaryotic cells…

March 24, 2021