Welcome to our first full issue of summaries from our 2015 BioProcess Theater programs. This is a bit of a different concept and format from our regular issues and supplements, so a few words of explanation are necessary. At the Interphex conference (21–22 April 2015) and the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s annual convention (16–18 June 2015), BPI again organized and conducted presentation programs within the exhibit halls. We have been holding the BPI Theater @ BIO for eight years now, and…
August 2015 Supplement
Formulation/Fill–Finish: BPI Theater @ BIO 2015
Matt Feldman (senior manager of strategic communications, Aeras) 10:00–10:25 am Vaccines, Global Health, and the Future of Fighting Tuberculosis Aeras is a nonprofit biotechnology company located in Rockville, MD, with other locations in Beijing, China, and in Cape Town, South Africa. Its mission is to advance tuberculosis (TB) vaccines worldwide. The fully integrated biotech company has in-house capabilities in finance, portfolio management, and manufacturing, taking products from preclinical through phase 2b clinical trials. Aeras is governed by a board of…
Manufacturing Strategies: BPI Theater @ Interphex 2015
Bill Hartzel (director of strategic execution for advanced delivery technologies, Catalent Pharma) 1:30–1:55 pm Reducing the Risk Associated with the Filling of Biologics with Advanced Aseptic Processing Hartzel discussed leveraging “blow–fill–seal†(BFS) aseptic processing technology to reduce risks associated with biologics fill and finish. A number of drug recalls have been associated with microbial and particulate contamination of glass vials, problems that could be solved using BFS. Automation eliminates human intervention at this critical stage, driving out associated risks. Hartzel…
Clinical/Commercial Manufacturing: BPI Theater @ BIO 2015
Tony Hitchcock (technical director, Cobra Biologics) 1:30–1:55 pm The Expanding DNA and Gene Therapy Market The gene therapy market has fluctuated dramatically over the past 20 years. But Hitchcock noted that over the past three years there has been a huge emergence of successful clinical outputs of gene therapy, with a large number of IPOs and significant funding. Even more interesting is the number of large pharmaceutical companies bringing gene therapy into their portfolios. Hitchcock pointed out that it is…
Choosing Between Single-Use and Multiuse Technologies: A BPI Theater Roundtable at Interphex 2015
On Tuesday, 21 April 2015, Eric S. Langer (managing partner at BioPlan Associates) chaired a midday roundtable titled, “Deciding on Single-Use vs. Stainless Steel Bioprocessing Strategy: What Do CMOs Know That Biopharmas Don’t?†Langer brought together these industry experts to discuss choosing between stainless steel and single-use technologies (SUTs) for different applications: William Hartzel (director of strategic execution at Catalent Pharma Solutions) Steven Perry (vice president of technical operations at Cook Pharmica) Joanna Pezzini (bioprocess engineer at MedImmune) Daniel Vellom…
Single-Use Technologies: BIO Theater @ Interphex 2015
Andrew Lidums (NA business development manager, Parker domnick hunter) 2:30–2:55 pm Implementing a Risk-Management–Based Approach to the Prevention of Mycoplasma Contaminations Lidums began with a recent report from Genentech, where a 150-µm long Leptospira organism from a drainage ditch outside the facility managed to penetrate 0.1-µm filters. The company solved this problem by lowering the temperature of the filtration operation, which made the bacteria more rigid and kept them from getting through. Clearly, however, contaminations happen even at large facilities.…
New Approaches to Fill and Finish: A BPI Theater Roundtable at Interphex 2015
On Wednesday, 22 April 2015, Susan Dexter (principal consultant at Latham BioPharm Group) chaired a midday roundtable titled, “Fill and Finish Manufacturing Strategies: Better or Just New?†She brought together three industry experts to provide mixed perspectives: Joseph Figlio (senior project officer for the manufacturing facilities and engineering division of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, BARDA, in the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response) Victor Lee (vice president…
Cell-line/Process Development – BPI Theater @ BIO 2015
Ray Price (senior director of business development, DiscoveRx) 3:30–3:55 pm Advances in Research Tools to Accelerate Drug Development Price introduced the BioSeek drug-discovery platform with examples. The technology is built on three pillars: primary human cells; models that use growth factors or cytokines to model a disease environment and then predict how drugs change biomarker responses in those systems; and comparisons of generated profiles with a reference database of more than 4,000 compounds. DiscoveRx uses that database and informatics tools…
Managing Contract Relationships: A BPI Theater Roundtable at the 2015 BIO Convention
On Wednesday 17 June 2015, Patricia Seymour (senior consultant at BioProcess Technology Consultants) chaired a midday roundtable titled, “Managing the Contract Relationship.†She brought together a panel of four experts with different perspectives (contract manufacturing, cell and protein therapies, and legal negotiations): Koen Hellendoorn (head of sales and customer account management at FujiFilm DioSynth Biotechnologies) Justin Skoble (senior director of technical operations for Aduro Biotech) Tom Douville (director of biopharmaceutical development at Kolltan Pharmaceuticals) Lily Vakili (senior counsel of Faber,…
Speeding Development and Lowering Costs While Enhancing Quality: A BPI Theater Roundtable at the 2015 BIO Convention
On Tuesday, 16 June 2015, Thomas C. Ransohoff (vice president of BioProcess Technology Consultants) chaired a midday roundtable titled, “Stretching for the Trifecta: Innovative Strategies for Speeding Development, Lowering Costs, and Enhancing Quality.†He brought together a panel of four industry experts: Joanne Beck (senior vice president of process development at Shire Pharmaceuticals) Parrish Galliher (chief technology officer for upstream (Xcellerex) at GE Healthcare) Lynne Frick (director of continuous processing for the Americas at Pall Corporation) Mark Brower (senior research…