Culture Development

Reducing Timelines in Early Process Development – Using a Multiparametric Clone-Selection and Feed-Optimization Strategy

by , and

The market for biopharmaceutical products remains highly attractive to small biotechnology companies and big pharmaceutical corporations alike (1). Most leading market products are made using recombinant technology (2). Pressures are continually increasing on process development groups to reduce development costs and timelines for taking new clinical products forward from product research bench scale into initial clinical evaluation studies. For many years a recognized critical bottleneck in development of products from mammalian cell lines was selection and isolation of stable, high-producing…

November 10, 2014

Automated Mini Bioreactor Technology for Microbial and Mammalian Cell Culture: Flexible Strategy to Optimize Early Process Development of Biologics and Vaccines

by

The use of mammalian and microbial cells in the production of biologics and vaccines is well established, and the majority of the top 10 drugs are now manufactured in this way. There is a significant and growing pipeline of new biologics (1), which in combination with increased pressure on cost reduction and generic competition from biosimilars (2), means that many biopharmaceutical companies are looking for ways to improve productivity in their development laboratories to ensure that upstream processes are efficient…

September 23, 2014

Fed-Batch Cell Culture Process Development: Implementing a Novel Nutrient Additive for a Robust, High-Titer, Scalable Process

by , , , , , , and

The fed-batch culture of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells has become well established as the primary method of manufacturing therapeutic recombinant protein products for various disease indications. Fed-batch process-development approaches focus on supporting high–cell-density cultures that are crucial to achieving high product titers but lead to proportionately high nutritional demands. Exhaustion of key nutrients negatively affects cell growth and ability to produce recombinant proteins. To counter that problem, concentrated feeds are added to the culture. Such feeds tend to be…

September 11, 2014

Qualification of Scale-Down Bioreactors: Validation of Process Changes in Commercial Production of Animal-Cell-Derived Products, Part 1 — Concept

by , , and

Implementing continuous process improvements is increasing in priority for the biopharmaceutical industry. Such implementation can be driven by product safety, purity, and stability enhancement opportunities as well as by cost-reduction pressures. Companies invest in projects to improve product quality assurance, safety, and yield as well as production efficiency (1). Such changes may come at any process stage, from early cell-growth methods through final-product packaging improvements. Examples include growth medium optimization, purification column operation optimization, and enhanced recovery during final filling…

May 1, 2014

Powders and Bulk Liquids

by and

    The two major bioprocess fluids — culture media for upstream production and buffers for downstream processing — are classic single-use products. They are used once and then disposed of. The two basic options for both differ by physical state: powdered media and buffers (“powders†for in-house preparation of liquids by end users) and bulk liquid culture media and buffers, which are fully prepared by their suppliers (“liquidsâ€). We conducted market research studies comparing the benefits and risks (value…

March 1, 2014

Enabling Technologies

by

Many technological advancements in recent years have enabled companies to shorten time to market, to better understand their manufacturing processes, and to characterize their products well. In BPI’s December 2013 issue (pages 47–50), I reported on the first half of an informal reader survey about those technologies, with commentary from some survey participants and others. This month concludes with my examination of analytical, formulation/fill–finish, and facilities technologies. Analytical Technologies After writing several installments of our new “BPI Lab” series this…

February 1, 2014

Innovation in Biopharmaceutical Manufacture

by and

The following is a report from a workshop on innovation in biopharmaceutical manufacturing held at the Annual bioProcessUK Conference in Bristol on 29 November 2012. The aim of the workshop was to access the experience of practitioners in the United Kingdom so as to understand better the challenges and opportunities for innovation in this sector. The workshop addressed the drivers that influence the implementation of process improvements and novel technologies in biopharmaceutical manufacture from the perspective of both manufacturers and…

January 1, 2014

Mathematical Model for Production of Recombinant Antibody 14D9 By Nicotiana tabacum Cell Suspension Batch Culture

by , , and

Transgenic plants are increasingly considered a competing system for producing high-value recombinant proteins for biomedical and industrial purposes at affordable costs (1). Researchers have shown that molecular farming (or biopharming) is a secure technology that is capable of rendering valuable recombinant proteins free of toxins and animal pathogens in a relatively short time (2,3,4,5,6). Scientists have also demonstrated that most recombinant antibodies produced in plants maintain their functional properties (substantial bioequivalence) as well as do those produced in mammalian cell…

January 1, 2014

Design of Experiments for Fed-Batch Process Development in Shaken Cultures

by , , , , and

When designing a recombinant protein production process, a high number of parallel cultivations must be carried out. That task is typically performed using batch cultures in shake flasks or microwell plates, in which fermentation conditions are not monitored. To overcome that limitation, we combined the SensorDish Reader and Shake Flask Reader systems (from PreSens) with an enzymatic glucose delivery system (EnBase technology from BioSilta Oy) for Escherichia coli cultivations. Our objective was to determine whether SensorDish reader cultures would yield…

January 1, 2014

Keeping New Technologies Coming

by

The biomanufacturing industry is heavily invested in improvements in productivity and efficiency, and innovation is a critical component to ensuring gains in these areas. Yet that is not always the case. Suppliers and innovators in this market face greater challenges, and much longer product evaluation cycles than in other segments, for example the information technology or semiconductor industries. In the highly regulated biomanufacturing environment, changing any aspect of a process can potentially necessitate additional regulatory submissions to the US Food…

June 1, 2013