November 2016

Ask the Expert: Top Five Considerations in Outsourcing to a Biomanufacturing Partner

    with Paul Jorjorian In BPI’s 5 October 2016 webcast, Paul Jorjorian (director of global technology transfer at Patheon) discussed his top five considerations for companies outsourcing to a biomanufacturing partner. Jorjorian’s Presentation Selecting a contract and development manufacturing organization (CDMO) is an important decision for many biopharmaceutical companies. Beyond time and cost, here are some other criteria to consider. The number-one issue is quality. Is your company’s definition of quality the same as a CDMOs — and if…

Ask the Expert: Boosting Profits with Single-Use Powder Transfer

    with Chris Rombach Open-suite biomanufacturing is gaining popularity. But it leaves surfaces open to contamination, workers at risk for exposure to airborne particulates, and processes more exposed to product loss due to waste or spillage. Liquid-handling systems are often adapted for dry-powder applications, but flow rates, handling characteristics, and dispensing volumes differ dramatically. ILC Dover’s purpose-built, single-use EZ BioPac system is designed specifically to contain and release dry powders. With single-use bags engineered for the task, it can…

Ask the Expert: BioSC Continuous Chromatography of MAbs, Process Design and Regulatory Considerations

    with Vincent Monchois In our September webcast, Vincent Monchois (biopharma strategic project director at Novasep) discussed continuous chromatography using BioSC technology. He included regulatory considerations and the challenges of viral clearance that arise when companies switch from batch to continuous processes. Monchois’s Presentation Users can apply BioSC multicolumn, continuous chromatography to standard capture steps such as ion-exchange or protein A chromatography. The main advantages are continuous operation and full access to the total static capacity of a resin.…

Special Report: A Strategy for Cost-Effective Capture Using Agarose-Based Protein A Resins

It is well recognized that the cost of Protein A resins is substantial. If a developmental monoclonal antibody (MAb) makes it to marketing approval and manufacturing, the high cost of purification using a Protein A resin is amortized over a large number of purification cycles, and the contribution to cost of goods is reduced to acceptable levels. However, a high percentage of clinical projects will fail, and the Protein A resin will be used only for a small number of…

Addressing the Challenges of Developing Biopharmaceutical Drugs

The biopharmaceutical industry is enjoying considerable success. Its products account for about a fifth of world pharmaceutical revenues, which are growing at twice the pace of those generated by most traditional chemically synthesized drugs. Biopharmaceuticals populate the list of best-selling drugs, and a number have achieved blockbuster status. Biotechnology stocks have outperformed the general market as investment has flowed into the industry. As with other highly profitable markets, the market for biopharmaceuticals has become increasingly competitive. Reflecting this fact, in…