Recent advances in the research of therapeutic biologics have resulted in increased market demand for novel manufacturing systems to help meet the growing production need. Recent data resulting from increased research into the human immune system has resulted in the development of innovative treatments for a number of diseases with large unmet need both as vaccination and therapy. To compliment this growth, new approaches in pharmaceutical manufacturing help to fill complex biological products, not only to secure…

      Wacker Biotech is a dedicated contract manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals with more than 20 years of experience in microbial systems. We offer proprietary technologies (ESETEC®, DENSETEC®) that significantly lower the cost of goods. Our customers benefit from a comprehensive service for the development of robust and highly efficient processes and GMP-compliant manufacturing for clinical trials and commercial supply. We opened recently a new process-development unit to optimize the entire process-development chain, from gene to purified protein. A second…

Small-pore, virus-retentive nanofilters are designed to remove even tiny viruses from a biological product intermediate as it flows through the filter membrane. During process development, manufacturers carefully optimize filtration conditions to maximize product throughput so that at manufacturing scale, the number and size of these expensive virus filters can be minimized. During the viral clearance study, an attempt is made to filter a targeted volume based on preceding process development studies. If the filter’s pores become plugged with impurities from…

Clarifying cell culture broth is the first downstream unit operation in an elaborate sequence of steps required to purify a biological therapeutic. The availability of large-scale, single-use depth filtration technology in recent years has given process developers the capability to improve and simplify downstream processes. The Zeta Plus™ Encapsulated System is a single-use depth filtration system designed for the bioprocessing industry where upstream cell culture clarification or downstream impurity removal is required. The Zeta Plus Encapsulated System consists of a…

  Background     Tryptic soy broth (TSB) is a general-purpose medium used for cultivating numerous microorganisms including Serratia marcescens, a Gram-negative rod commonly found in water and involved in pharmaceutical contaminations (1, 2). This study examines the growth characteristics and bacterial retention of S. marcescens (ATCC #14756) in five types of TSB: EMD TSB (type 1), EMD Irradiated TSB (type 2), EMD Non-Animal Origin TSB (type 3), EMD Non-Animal Origin Irradiated TSB (type 4), and Competitor ATSB (type 5).…

      Influenza vaccine has historically been produced in embryonated chicken eggs. However, to meet the needs for pandemic preparedness and the scalability of vaccine production, cell-based processes are now being developed and implemented in the industry. The methods for purification processes have typically involved a combination of sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation, ultrafiltration/diafiltration (UF/DF) with hollow-fiber membranes, and chromatography using affinity, ion-exchange, and/or gel filtration media (resins). In these processes, both sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation and gel filtration have…