The increasing adoption of single-use technology in biopharmaceutical, vaccine, and cell therapy production is one indication that such technology has moved far beyond its novelty stage. Arguably, this is the preferred technology of newly developed processes. Benefits have been well documented in journals and conference presentations and have led the industry to form the Bio-Process Systems Alliance (BPSA). One current need is for process sensors that offer the same convenience as disposable bags, tubings, and filters being used. An ideal…
2011
Won’t Get Fooled Again
The world loves a winner, and no one wants to be linked to a failed endeavor that could stall or otherwise negatively affect his or her career. If you’re reading this magazine, you’ve probably been inspected or audited by regulators and/or customers at some point. When it was finished, did your company compare favorably with expectations, or did the reports reflect a negative image? Did they mirror management’s view of operations, or was there a disconnect with management…
A Framework for Selecting and Working with a Normal-Flow Filtration Supplier
The biopharmaceutical market accounts for about 20% of the total market for pharmaceuticals, but its share continues to increase because of double-digit compound annual growth rates leading to projections that by 2014 eight of the top 10 best-selling drugs will be biologics (1). The industry faces many challenges and opportunities, as Jim Davies of Lonza Biologics explained to me: “Biomanufacturers have to contend with what is at present a dynamic technical and commercial landscape. Industry consolidation continues to occur as…
Are Single-Use Technologies Changing the Game?
Recently, I have heard the term game changer used to describe single-use technologies (SUTs). Whether this is hyperbole or reality remains to be seen. But it does bring baseball to my mind. After all, it’s finally spring, games began in April, and optimism reigns supreme — at least in some major-league cities. I was struck recently by an article in my home-town Washington Post by venerated columnist Thomas Boswell, who wrote in March about hope for the future of our…
NIR Spectroscopy Analysis of Phosphate Salts
Confirmation of raw material quality is a vital part of biopharmaceutical manufacturing processing. Incorrect or poor-quality vendor materials account for a considerable portion of failed and recalled product. To prevent these expensive problems, strict quality control (QC) procedures are often implemented and used to screen for inappropriate incoming materials. QC procedures commonly used are chemical tests that involve removing samples to a laboratory and performing, which can at times be complex, time-consuming, and laborious protocols. A common test procedure that…
Productivity Bottlenecks Drive the Demand for Innovation
Spending is up, the global economy is slowly getting back on track, and the biopharmaceutical industry continues to roll along at double-digit growth. Productivity has been the primary industry focus over the past few years, and it remains a hot topic. Companies are aggressively going after the bottlenecks to their efficiency, and now they’re opening their wallets to fix what’s broken. One of the biggest productivity fixes today centers on improved single-use devices and systems. They top a…
Working with a Powerful and Robust Mixed-Mode Resin for Protein Purification
Orthogonal methods for assuring robust downstream purification are critical to today’s demanding downstream process industry. Regulatory scrutiny on the immunogenic propensity of drugs has increased and broadened over the past two decades. Although immunogenicity can come from a number of sources, common concerns include host-cell proteins and aggregates. Constantly lurking in the background are other issues such as viral clearance, DNA levels, and so on. Those problems can be addressed simultaneously with the mixed-mode chromatographic support known as…
Global Marketplace
Shaker–Incubator Product: Multitron II system with shaker-bag option Applications: Cultivation of mammalian, insect, or plant cells Features: A Multitron II unit (50-mm orbit) with shaker-bag option enables 1- to 10-L cell cultures in disposable bags. Direct gassing of air or air–CO2 mix provides pH stability, and media temperature is controlled by air inside the incubator chamber. Up to three 2-L or two 10-L bags, or one 20-L bag from a number of manufacturers can be accommodated. The system also works…
Disposable Bioreactor Sensors Play Catch-Up
The evolution of single-use bioreactor (SUB) systems in biologics manufacturing has been rapid and influential. Reliance on efficient and flexible bioreactor technology will be critical for reducing scale-up costs and facility capital expenses as well as aggressively growing biotherapeutic and monoclonal antibody production. The biopharmaceutical industry has seen considerable growth in the proliferation of single-use bioreactor platforms as well as manufacturing areas where these systems are applied. Need for Improved Single-Use Sensors As disposable technologies are widely accepted and established,…
New Plant Expression Systems Drive Vaccine Innovation and Opportunity
Plant expression systems are emerging as fast and inexpensive methods for producing vaccines. Someday, plants may surpass mammalian and even many microbial systems in efficiency and cost-benefits for the manufacture recombinant proteins. This is particularly so for the rapid manufacture of truly large-scale (million- or even billion-dose) vaccine antigens. Whether grown as single cells or tissues in photosynthesis reactors, as whole plants in controlled laboratory situations, or cultivated in fields of transformed food-commodity plants (e.g., rice, potatoes, or tobacco), plants…