Author Archives: William Whitford

The Green Imperative: Part 3 — Postuse Management of Single-Use Bioprocessing Materials, Today and Tomorrow

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The world desires a more sustainable economy in which resources can be saved, products can be profitably used, and at the end of their useful life, component materials can be recycled into other useful products. The bioprocessing industry has made efforts to meet those goals and has learned a great deal about the role of plastic components in sustainable manufacturing. The most important lesson might be that a science-based approach is required to provide an accurate benchmark of manufacturingʼs environmental…

December 8, 2021

The Green Imperative: Part One — Life-Cycle Assessment and Sustainability for Single-Use Technologies in the Biopharmaceutical Industry

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Much has changed since large-scale single-use biomanufacturing equipment was introduced some 15 years ago. Since then, these materials have become accepted and established in production and downstream bioprocessing. Concerns about the environmental impact of single-use (SU) biomanufacturing equipment have become more prevalent as our environmental awareness has increased and related concerns have become more urgent (1). For example, many recommendations and even laws have emerged regarding plastic convenience packaging and products (2, 3). People have become more sophisticated in appreciating…

June 11, 2020

From Interest in Intensification to a Factory of the Future

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Much has been published on improvements and advances in many individual technologies for biomanufacturing. If you take a comprehensive look at the field, however, you find overlap, muddling, and even contradiction about which particular processes or aspects of technological development should be designated properly as process intensification. Although the industry is addressing such distinct goals as improved manufacturing yield, product quality, and cost-effectiveness, the names of initiatives commonly applied to accomplish those goals overlap at best. Such ambiguity and lack…

June 12, 2019

eBook: SUStainability — Concerning Single-Use Systems and the Environment

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Disposable materials have been used in many aspects of biomanufacturing since muromonab was first launched in 1986. Single-use stirred-tank bioreactors first became commercially available from HyClone in 2004 (1). Despite their demonstrated value to bioprocessing, disposable materials remain the subject of wide-ranging differences of opinion. Discussions of any technology are healthy and important for identifying areas for improvement, but some hearsay and bold propositions made regarding single-use components and the environment are not always helpful. Sustainability is an important and…

June 7, 2018

eBook: Bioinks for Bioprinting — Three-Dimensional Printing in Research and Medicine

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Three-dimensional (3D) printing is one method of digital biomanufacturing for both basic biological research and translational, clinical applications. The medical field has used it to create such constructions as 3D surgical models for preoperative planning, to assist surgeons in their procedure preparations, which improves postsurgical outcomes. Examples here include generation of cleft-palate models (1), orthopedic applications (2), and cardiovascular surgical planning (3). Other forms of 3D printing for biological applications — such as 3D bioprinting — go beyond such surgical…

January 31, 2018

The 2017 World Biological Forum: Successes and Future Trends in Continuous Biomanufacturing

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Continuous biomanufacturing was a central topic at the fourth annual World Biological Forum in Oxford, UK, on 26–28 June 2017. A well-rounded lineup of presenters appeared at this forum held in Oxford University’s Lady Margaret Hall, an eclectic location that well captured the historic charm of the university. Delegates were well supported throughout the meeting with generous meals, refreshments, and assistance provided by helpful staff. Papers were presented in Talbot Hall in the center of the college. The stately main…

October 18, 2017

The Era of Digital Biomanufacturing

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The digital revolution in manufacturing began with an explosion in monitoring, analytics, and new computing capabilities. Combined with such advances as artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and robotics, they are changing our concepts of manufacturing in general — from product development and factory operations to materials supply. This evolution also connects product and process designers and leaders in manufacturing engineering. Digital manufacturing (DM) isn’t a dream or a concept on some advanced developer’s design table; it’s occurring now and will change…

March 20, 2017

Trends in Setting Single-Use Technology Standards

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The biopharmaceutical industry now incorporates single-use (SU) technology and systems in most production processes based on cell culture (1, 2). Implementation of such technologies has led to the availability of prepackaged and sterilized systems complete and ready for use with preinstalled mixers and monitoring probes. From upstream process- material preparation through final-product formulation, biopharmaceutical sponsors are increasingly presented with numerous SU solutions that support all major production platforms (3–5). The number of SU materials and suppliers in biopharmaceutical manufacturing has…

October 16, 2014