How to select the right bioink to secure proper cellular characteristics and functionalities in engineered tissues: exploring the benefits of low endotoxin gelatins. Gelatin has long been a trusted excipient in the pharmaceutical industry. For advanced biomedical applications like in-body use, there are strict regulations for endotoxins levels of the final product (medical device) to avoid unwanted side-effects. 3D bioprinting is a very popular tissue engineering technology used in the field of regenerative medicine. In this whitepaper, we explore the…

Ophthalmic drug formulations are growing in importance due to the increased prevalence of eye-related disorders such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. However, ocular drug delivery is challenging due to unique anatomical and physiological barriers such as pre-corneal loss factors including tear turnover, nasolacrimal drainage with potential systemic absorption via the conjunctiva or nasal mucosa, transient residence time, and the relative impermeability of the corneal epithelial membrane. The low ocular bioavailability (<10%) of conventional ophthalmic formulations is driving the need…

The bio/pharmaceutical industry is rapidly changing with increased product complexity, shorter timelines, and a push from the FDA for less human intervention in aseptic processing. These changes can often introduce additional risks to the sterile fill/finish process, resulting in production delays, additional costs, and safety concerns. Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing can help eliminate human error and other associated risks when producing small batches of sterile GMP product for Phase 1 and 2 trials using our state-of-the-art Vanrx Microcell Vial Filler…

HEK293 cells are a dominant platform for cell and gene therapy production because they are highly effective at producing large amounts of recombinant viral vectors. However, it is critical to remove trace host cell contamination from therapeutic products to avoid endangering patients. To meet rigorous regulatory guidelines, biopharmaceutical manufacturers need a HEK293 detection method that delivers high-quality, quantitative data with a simple, reliable workflow. This white paper discusses the transition from quantitative PCR (qPCR) to Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR™) for…

Lipid excipients and delivery systems such as lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are essential for a wide variety of therapeutics including chemotherapy, analgesics, gene therapy, respiratory and ocular applications, anti-fungal applications, and vaccines. In many cases, these excipients and delivery systems play an important role in achieving the desired bioavailability. mRNA vaccines, for example, require incorporation of lipids to prevent degradation of the nucleic acid and facilitate cellular uptake of the mRNA which is required for antibody generation. The purity and safety…

Boehringer Ingelheim and ZETA have had a long-standing, successful partnership. In 2019, the global pharmaceutical company approached ZETA with a significant challenge. The goal was to implement a major EPCM project at the Boehringer Ingelheim RCV site in Vienna, Austria, in just 24 months. ZETA accepted the challenge and successfully managed the entire project – called G3Leopold – as a one-stop-shop for the customer. Everything was included: from the engineering of the entire plant, the process area, the architecture, and…

While oral administration remains the most popular route for drug delivery, many of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in use and development today exhibit low bioavailability, owing to low solubility which leads to a lower passage through the intestinal membrane, a key step to enter the systemic circulation. As such, formulators have developed a toolkit of enabling formulation techniques to increase bioavailability, including solid-state modification, formulation with lipids, salt formation with meglumine and complexation with cyclodextrins. However, the high degree…

Bio-Layer Interferometry (BLI) systems are used throughout biotherapeutic discovery, development, manufacturing and quality control (QC) workflows to simplify and streamline measurement of process and product attributes. They offer an excellent alternative to assays performed using time- and labor-intensive methods such as ELISA and HPLC. These label-free assays can be run fully automated, require much less user intervention, and provide a simplified workflow. Following an introduction to the principles of BLI, we highlight how the Octet® BLI platform has been used…

cGMP grade transfection reagents should be produced and formulated following strict guidelines. Some suppliers manufacture transfection reagents according to medical devices cGMP standards which makes the reagents suitable for viral vector manufacturing in the United States but not suitable for direct administration into humans. Those are often labelled as “for research use only and further manufacturing. Not for use in humans or animals”. Others comply to pharmaceuticals cGMP guidelines, making the transfection reagent suitable for viral vector manufacturing as well…