George S. Weeden, Jr., is a scientist in global manufacturing science and technology (MSAT) process science at Sanofi. We recently chatted about the topic of continuous chromatography. What are the general reasons for companies to consider continuous chromatography? And what are the caveats? The main driver for considering continuous chromatography is reducing the cost of goods (CoG). Continuous chromatography improves productivity (mass of product per volume of stationary phase over time) and thus increases throughput or decreases volumes of stationary…
Author Archives: Cheryl Scott
Single-Use Technology in Upstream Processing: A Roundtable Discussion
The Sartorius upstream portfolio addresses key strategic challenges facing the biopharmaceutical industry: Increased speed to clinic/market and lowered capital costs, with improved process control. Fully scalable, proven process solutions for cell line, media, and process development through commercial manufacturing accelerate upstream development and simplify manufacturing. Novel high-throughput development tools for intensified processes incorporate the latest in process analytics, multivariate data analysis (MVDA), and design of experiments (DoE) software tools. These tools are designed to compress development timelines and to scale…
Building Toward Antibody–Drug Conjugate Success
“We are witnessing one of the most significant paradigm changes in oncology drug development, with some new types of immunooncology compounds inducing unprecedented increases in survival in certain solid and liquid tumor indications.” —Jagath Reddy Junutula (Cellerant Therapeutics) and Hans-Peter Gerber (Pfizer) (1) An antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) for cancer treatment needs four things to succeed clinically: It needs to target the right antigen using the right antibody, with the most powerful cytotoxin attached by best linker option. These features combine…
Antibody Derivatives: Deconstructing MAbs for the Next Wave of Biotherapies
Although they make up the largest and most successful category of biopharmaceuticals so far, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) suffer from certain disadvantages. Some companies are addressing those limitations by deconstructing MAb molecules to create new emergent therapeutics. These antibody derivatives include: antibody fusions and fragments, bispecifics, trifunctional antibodies, and more. This eBook combines market analysis from consultant David Orchard-Webb with technical discussion from BPI cofounder and senior technical editor Cheryl Scott. It also includes commentary from editorial advisor Michiel Ultee and…
April From the Editor
Our focus on regenerative medicine this month, with its inherent personalized approach, brings to my mind aspects of “the patient experience.” Last week at BPI West in Santa Clara, CA, I was intensely moved by the performance of lymphoma survivor Toby Peach (www.tobypeach.co.uk). Our KNect365 colleagues will be asking him back this fall for the BPI Conference in Boston, and I encourage you not to miss him if you’re there. Many of us will be touched by some form of…
Monoclonal Antibodies: Beyond the Platform in Manufacturing
The vast majority of monoclonal antibody (MAb) production processes are based on fed-batch Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture and protein A affinity column chromatography capture. Increasing cost-consciousness — among innovator companies as well as biosimilar makers — has many companies looking “beyond the platform” for less expensive alternatives that may provide better results. Here the BPI editors review some state-of-the-art alternatives in upstream and downstream MAb drug substance bioprocessing as well as drug-product manufacturing. The current “gold standard” platform…
Introduction: Drug Product Discussions
Quality by design (QbD), risk management, and new technologies are shaping biologics formulation work in the 21st century. We saw much evidence of this at the BioProcess International Conference and Exhibition in Boston last fall, where a wide range of talks filled the Drug Product, Fill–Finish, and Formulations track during the week after Labor Day. Dingjiang Liu (Regeneron) offered a high-level discussion from the BioPhorum Development Group (BPDG) on “An Intercompany Perspective on Biopharmaceutical Product Robustness Studies.” Such studies ensure…
Continuous Chromatography: Experts Weigh in on the Possibilities and the Reality
Discussions of continuous processing in the biopharmaceutical industry are an important part of current efforts toward intensifying bioproduction and bioprocessing. Biomanufacturers are looking at all components of their development and manufacturing processes for ways to reduce the size of their facilities, lower costs, and increase speed and flexibility of operations. Increasing options for and availability of single-use technologies have been major enablers of myriad attempts to improve efficiencies. Although the general consensus may still be that single-use components are more…
Manufacturing Insights: Interviews from BWB 2018 Highlight Perspectives on Streamlining Manufacturing Timelines
Addressing manufacturing and technologies strategies to accelerate market entry is one of BPI’s highlighted themes for 2019. In partnership with our conference colleagues in Informa’s KNect365 division, this already has been a shared theme, reflecting the general goals of the industry and related advice from its regulators. BPI’s summer 2018 preconference ebook included interviews by Dan Stanton (editor, BioProcess Insider) with speakers previewing their talks for the BPI Conference in Boston on 7 September 2018. Two of those conversations focused…
Aspects of Acceleration: Biomanufacturers Need Smart Strategies to Speed Products to Market
No matter what the industry, it’s widely accepted that slow-moving companies give their nimbler competitors an advantage, allowing them room to dominate the market even if their products are not superior. “Me-too” products and their sponsors often are seen as followers rather than leaders — even if they offer improvements over what is already available. Fast movers are flexible and adaptive to a dynamic business environment. They capitalize on opportunities and navigate risks and challenges by responding quickly to changes…