Friday, November 9, 2018 Daily Archives

Inactivation of Enveloped Viruses: Seeking Alternatives to a Problematic Surfactant

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Triton X-100 detergent makes an interesting case study in bioprocess sustainability strategy. Also known as octylphenol ethoxylate (OPE), this nonionic surfactant has many uses in biopharmaceutical research and development. Among other laboratory applications, it is used to lyse cells and DNA in research, to solubilize membrane proteins and decellularize animal-derived tissues, to reduce the surface tension of aqueous solutions during immunostaining, and to remove sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) from polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) gels for analysis. It also serves as…

November 9, 2018

October From the Editor

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As we send this issue to the printer, the BPI editors are enjoying the start of the western Oregon fall season. Early rains are beginning finally to extinguish the remaining wildfires that have kept our valley (along with much of the west coast) choked with smoke much of the summer. With the fires on this side of the country and the recent storms to the east, we hope that all our colleagues and readers remain safe. For BPI, changes begun…

November 9, 2018

Collaboration looks to crystallization as alternative to multi-step chromatography

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A European Union funded project to improve downstream processing is on track for completion by October 2020, says collaborator Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. The AMECRYS research project, funded through a €3.5 million ($4 million) grant through the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program, has brought together industry with government and academic institutes to develop alternatives to multi-step batch chromatography platforms. One of the collaborators is biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, which has reached a milestone in the…

November 9, 2018

Jazz on Erwinaze shortage: ‘We can’t sell what we don’t have’

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Jazz Pharmaceuticals says further supply outages for its cancer enzyme Erwinaze are expected amid ongoing manufacturing issues at its sole CMO. For the third quarter 2018, Jazz Pharmaceuticals reported net sales of its acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) drug Erwinaze (asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi) of $41 million (€36 million), down 16% on the same period last year. “Supply challenges continued to impact product availability in the third quarter,†CEO Bruce Cozadd told stakeholders on a conference call (transcript here). He predicted further…

November 9, 2018