Plastic-based, single-use, disposables has been prevalent in biotech/pharmaceutical manufacturing processes for decades. Examples of such technologies include filters, gaskets, tubing, sampling bags, carboys, and ultrafiltration/diafiltration (UF/DF) capsules. In recent years, single-use technology has made great leaps in broadening the range of options and applications available. Disposable bioprocess containers are now widely used for applications such as media/buffer preparation and storage, bioreactors and cell culture operations, in-process intermediate containers for manufacturing operations, final drug substance/product containers, and so on. Customized solutions…
Monday, April 1, 2013 Daily Archives
Implementing Disposable Sampling Devices for Fully Autoclaved Equipment
Sampling is used extensively to monitor both behavior and quality throughout biopharmaceutical processesing (1, 2). Methods must deliver representative samples and — more important — not compromise the integrity of a given unit operation or the process of which it is part. When microorganisms, animal cells, viruses, or nonfilterable materials are involved, sampling methods must not introduce contamination (see the “Regulatory Requirements” box). For successful sampling, three methods have been used routinely over the years: steam-in-place (SIP) valves; aseptic tube…
High-Yield Production of PASylated Human Growth Hormone Using Secretory E. coli Technology
Since the 1985 approval of the first recombinant human growth hormone (hGH, such as Protropin/somatrem human growth hormone from Genentech, now Roche), the number of clinical indications for therapy with hGH has steadily increased (1). That led to a highly successful drug with more than US$3 billion sales in 2011 (2). Even so, hGH shares a common problem with most other first-generation protein therapeutics: a very short plasma half-life of just about two hours in humans. Because such biologics are…
Single-Use Pumps Take Center Stage
The multibillion-dollar global biopharmaceutical industry is placing increased emphasis on development and manufacture of advanced biologics. Such products offer exciting potential for the development of drugs that could provide as-yet-unknown treatments for a wide array of diseases. One important goal is to commercialize biologic products as early as possible within the typical 20-year patent window. Patent submission must occur during drug development. Much work follows a patent filing, including further product development, toxicity checks, and clinical trials. Hopefully, US Food…
Amplifying the Possibilities
Polymerases are natural enzymes that are vital to nucleic acid synthesis: DNA polymerase for replication of deoxyribonucleic acid and RNA polymerase for replication of ribonucleic acid. Thus all living things make and use polymerases of their own. But in 1969, the University of Wisconsin’s Thomas D. Brock and Hudson Freeze identified a new species of extremophilic bacterium thriving at 160 °F (70 °C) in a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. In time, heat-tolerant polymerase isolated from Thermus aquaticus (Taq)…
Development and Qualification of a Scalable, Disposable Bioreactor for GMP-Compliant Cell Culture
During the past decade, single-use bioreactors have become widely accepted for use in cell culture process development and clinical manufacturing. Their key benefits over stainless steel bioreactors are flexibility, cost, and time savings associated with the reduction of cross-contamination risks (1). Here, we describe our approach to development and qualification of the Biostat STR single-use, stirred-tank bioreactor. Unlike other stirred single-use bioreactors, it offers a similar design to that of well-established, conventional (stainless steel) stirred-tank bioreactors. Disposability of the single-use…
Liquid or Powdered Media?
For decades, innovations in research and production techniques have been driving forces in the biopharmaceutical industry. But market conditions fueled by the economic downturn over the past five years have increased regulatory burdens in the United States and Europe. Rising costs and risks associated with new drug development now require that biopharmaceutical companies manufacture their products more quickly and cost-effectively than ever before. To this end, companies are looking for new ways to reduce expenditures, increase profitability, speed research, enhance…
Broadening the Baseline
When the editors of BPI asked us at BPSA to put together a content-rich article for the single-use supplement, we were happy to do so. Our challenge was how to bring in multiple viewpoints about the growing business of single-use that would be a “quick read” for the BPI audience. The answer: an expert colloquy (a “conversational exchange or topical dialogue”). Represented here are several of the most qualified industry spokespersons in single-use — all are members of BPSA and…
The Role of Medical Affairs in Moving from R&D to Commercialization
Bringing a new pharmaceutical product to market is a unique process based on a number of requirements for supporting a product launch. For a research and development (R&D) company, launching a product into market may seem to be an issue for someone else to handle in the far-distant future and at a much later time. But even at laboratory or early development stages, biotechnology companies should understand the language of pharmaceutical companies and know how that industry operates. Doing so…
A Short History of Cell Culture Media and the Use of Insulin
A surprising history of cell culture media and the use of insulin, outlining the basic developments behind growing mammalian cells.
It will take you on a journey from the late 1800 where organ tissues were kept in balanced salt solutions -BSS- and later PBS, until the early 50’s synthetic media, over chick embryo extract and Eagle’s Minimal Essential Medium (MEM) or its modification by Dulbecco (DMEM). Finally describing insulin mimicking growth factors.