Cryopreservation provides critical protection for cell therapies by minimizing genetic changes. But cooling too slowly or quickly risks diminishing cell viability upon thaw. On 11 March 2020, Peter Kilbride (senior research scientist) and Julie Meneghel (cryobiologist), both of Cytiva (formerly GE Healthcare Life Sciences), discussed the importance of controlled-rate cryopreservation. Illustrating how mammalian cells change when frozen, Kilbride and Meneghel offered concrete cryopreservation strategies and identified temperatures at which it is safe to stop controlled cooling and transfer drug product…
May 2020
Ask the Expert: A Robust, Stable Platform for Biologics Development
Sean Liour (vice president for project management at GenScript ProBio) delivered an Ask the Expert presentation on 18 March 2020 to explore the advantages of his company’s platform for cell-line development. Liour explained that successful biologic development hinges on robust host cell lines, capable expression vectors, and discriminating clone-screening systems. Overviewing relevant technologies and capabilities, Liour illustrated how his company’s ProCLD platform helps sponsors navigate cell-line development. Liour’s Presentation Researchers must weigh their options carefully when selecting a host cell…
A Healthy Biosimilars Market Promotes Innovation and Affordability
Innovative drug manufacturers require an opportunity to recoup capital and opportunity costs that they incurred to develop new medicines. Once patents have expired, competitors should be empowered to promote widespread affordability. An exclusivity period followed by a competitive market would promote the otherwise incompatible objectives of incenting innovation and promoting affordability. That careful balance exists for small-molecule medicines but not yet for biologics. The innovation side of the biologics market is working as intended, but a robust market for lower-cost…