This presentation outlines the key issues facing the R&D and Quality cGMP environments and presents key IT-based solutions that have been implemented by leading pharma and biotech companies.
Manufacturing
Production of a Viral-Vectored Vaccine Candidate Against Tuberculosis
Vaccines are among the most efficacious and cost-effective human health interventions available. They provide protection against a surprisingly broad spectrum of infectious diseases. Notable recent successes protect against human papillomavirus (Cervarix and Gardasil vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline and Merck, respectively) and rotavirus (Rotarix and RotaTeq vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline and Merck, respectively). However, generating reliable sterilizing or therapeutic immunity is still not possible against a number of latent and chronic pathogens that especially affect people in developing countries. Among those…
BioSimilars and Biomanufacturing Briefing
Speakers: Karin Lucas Director, Training & Education BioTech Primer, Inc Timothy Fawcett Scientific Director BioTechnical Institute of Maryland, Inc. Listen to the audio cast here
BioSimilars Have Arrived: Perspectives on the Path Forward
While the Biosimilar market is expected to reach $20B by 2020, four factors will play a major influence on just how quickly the biosimilar market will grow: patent expirations, regulatory pathways, development challenges and viability of a commercial model.
Looking at the Recent FDA Biosimilar Guidelines
Small-molecule treatments are invaluable in providing symptomatic benefits for an array of illnesses. However, many serious conditions — ranging from cancer to autoimmune disorders — respond better to more sophisticated complex drugs such as therapeutic biologics and nonbiologic complex drugs (NBCDs). The latter are medicinal, nonbiological products in which the active substance is not a homomolecular structure, but rather consists of a number of different (closely related) structures that cannot be fully characterized. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)…
Vertical Integration of Disposables in Biopharmaceutical Drug Substance Manufacturing
Single-use (disposable) technologies are gaining significant traction in biopharmaceutical manufacturing due to reductions in capital investment for plant construction, lower requirements for cleaning and sterilization, and the advantages of eliminating cross-contamination during multiproduct manufacturing (1,2,3,4). In the early days of disposables, single-use (SU) systems were used only in specific unit operations (5, 6). Recently, however, options have become more widely available throughout drug-substance manufacturing (7,8,9,10). Companies now focus on selecting the right SU technology from an array of…
Implementing a Fully Disposable MAb Manufacturing Facility
Biopharmaceutical contract services have seen some very important changes and growth in recent years, part of an increasing trend toward outsourcing by pharmaceutical companies both large and small. And we have seen a significant change in the types of services demanded by clients. In addition to typical services such as validation, analytical services, and training, for example, demand has increased for outsourcing of process development, mammalian cell culture, good manufacturing practice (GMP) production, and final formulation and filling.…
Informatics Technologies in an Evolving R&D Landscape
Over the years, bioprocessing companies have leveraged a host of information technology (IT) to help them bring innovative new therapies to market. As the needs of a research and development (R&D) enterprise evolve, however, are such systems and applications a help or a hindrance? On one hand, the increasing sophistication of IT solutions — such as those designed to help users create advanced molecular models or track thousands of compounds through the discovery process — have enabled new…
A Decade of Formulation
Although no biopharmaceutical pills are yet on the horizon, formulation and delivery have advanced over the past 10 years. Formulators have new biophysical technologies and new product types (such as protein–drug conjugates) to work with. The most important issues haven’t changed much, though — from aggregation to stability, freezing to freeze-drying — although the FDA’s quality by design (QbD) initiative changes the strategies used to address them. Fragile proteins and other biologically sourced macromolecules need protection to achieve…
A Decade of Fill–Finish and Packaging Solutions
In 2003, BPI’s first year of publication, the Food and Drug Administration released a draft of its updated guidelines on aseptic processing. In it, the agency included the statement, “A well-designed positive pressure isolator, supported by adequate procedures for its maintenance, monitoring, and control offers tangible advantages over classical aseptic processing, including fewer opportunities for microbial contamination during processing†(1).That kind of statement, seemingly approving one technology over another, was unprecedented in an FDA guidance and perhaps an…