Manufacturing

Upstream: Make the Right Decisions for Your mAb

by

Bioprocess decisions made during upstream operations can be difficult to reverse at later, more costly stages of biologic manufacture. They even can require significant backtracking, wasting precious time, labor, and material. Read this Special Report to learn ways to optimize monoclonal antibody bioprocessing upstream. Specifically, you will learn about different tools that small and emerging biotechnology groups can use to ensure robust cell-line selection novel media formulations designed for intensified upstream processing in perfusion modes mixing and delivery solutions that…

January 27, 2020

Trends in Data Analytics As Organizations Undergo a Digital Transformation

by , , and

The biopharmaceutical industry is in the midst of an exciting transformation as biologics experience massive growth — even outpacing the small-molecule segment (1). Biologics are predicted to comprise over a quarter of the pharmaceutical market in 2020 (2). At the same time, a plethora of new biologically derived therapy concepts — e.g., cell and gene therapies — are in development. Some biologics classes have become mainstream — e.g., monoclonal antibodies — with biosimilars entering the market and contract manufacturing organizations…

December 20, 2019

eBook: Viral Vectors for Vaccines — A Virtual Conversation on Production and Analysis

by , , and

Although today’s vaccines are safer, more effective, and more accessible than they were even 20 years ago, the emergence of new, complex pathogens has exposed limitations in traditional vaccine strategies. Viral vector vaccines (VVVs) hold great promise for confronting those now-intractable pathogens. Combining the best features of live-attenuated and DNA-vaccine approaches, these next-generation prophylactics seek to harness the infectivity of non- or low-immunogenicity viruses to shuttle antigen-encoding DNA from target pathogens into host cells. The resulting transduced cells then initiate…

December 19, 2019

The Proof Is in the Data: Extractables and Leachables

by , and

Extractables and leachables (E&Ls) must be addressed in material and process validation programs. Extractables are compounds that can be extracted from a material in the presence of solvents with varying polarity under extreme conditions. Materials manufacturers should make extractables guides available to end users. Leachables are compounds that migrate from a material in the presence of an actual formulation under normal process operating conditions. Extractables information can be helpful as a basis for evaluation of potential process-equipment–related leachables (PERLs)testing. However,…

December 19, 2019

eBook: Biologics Stability — Lifecycle Management of Drug Products

by

The biomanufacturing industry’s increasing attention to risk mitigation through quality by design (QbD) and the emergence of complex therapeutic modalities have driven the need for a lifetime-management approach to assuring drug product stability. To that end, industry guidelines have been (or are being) developed to guide the industry toward a “holistic approach†to conducting stability assessments. However, not all methods are stability indicating, and many more industry concerns need to be addressed. This BPI eBook offers perspectives on ICH Q12…

December 17, 2019

The Value of Plug-and-Play Automation in Single-Use Technology

by , , , , and

Automation can improve efficiency, track performance, adjust operations, and liberate operators from mundane routines. Automation requires a flexible set of tools that align well with the inherent flexibility of single-use technology (SUT). Although SUT flexibility enhances a biomanufacturer’s ability to modify operations to meet the needs of today’s dynamic industry, it also increases timelines and costs related to customizing and validating automated additions. We present herein the findings of a team of industry automation experts who are sharing their experiences…

December 17, 2019

Capacity Analysis for Viral Vector Manufacturing: Is There Enough?

by , , , and

Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) are engineered to replace defective, disease-causing genes to compensate directly for a genetic defect or to encode a therapeutic protein construct (e.g., chimeric antigen receptor, CAR) for disease treatment. In most instances, a viral vector delivers the engineered genetic payload, targeting cells in situ or ex vivo through cellular modification, expansion, and infusion into a patient. Clinical successes of ATMPs bolstered by regulatory approval of products such as Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec-rzyl, Spark Therapeutics), Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel,…

December 17, 2019

Analytical Testing Strategies for CAR T-Cell Products

by and

Assay lifecycle development for traditional biopharmaceuticals such as vaccines and monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) has a clearly defined pathway, from preclinical method selection, development, and optimization through the milestones in preclinical phase trials, and finally to postlicensure method evaluations, comparability, and improvements. The analytical development roadmap for nontraditional biologics such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies and gene therapies are not as clearly defined and can present many challenges along the way. Understanding the “what, how, and when†of analytical…

December 16, 2019

Measure Twice, Treat Once: Navigating the Regulatory Landscape of Assay Development to Ensure High-Quality CGT Products

by , , and

Cell and gene therapies (CGTs) are a novel and fast-growing class of transformative therapies designed to address gaps in traditional treatment strategies of some of the most severe diseases. By definition, gene therapy “seeks to modify or manipulate expression of a gene to alter the biological properties of living cells for therapeutic use†(1). That can be either an in vivo delivery of a gene or delivery of a gene to a patient’s cells that are manipulated outside of the…

December 16, 2019

Risk and Lifecycle Management for Biopharma Operations

by

By working with the best biopharmaceutical companies for over a decade, 4Tune Engineering (4TE) has built a portfolio of services that enables companies to address current-century challenges. The biotechnology industry needs to address advanced therapies and personalized medicines and deliver explicit patient outcomes. Biologics today fall into four categories: monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), biosimilars, advanced therapeutic medicinal products (ATMPs), and cell and gene therapies (CGTs). Consequently, we can ask whether our manufacturing science and technology (MSAT) approaches are up to the…

December 16, 2019