During the past five years, many biopharmaceuticals have found their way into clinical trials and commercial production (1–4). So far, about 60 million patients worldwide have benefited from these new drugs. The market for biopharmaceuticals was estimated at US$33 billion in 2004 and projected to reach US$70 billion by the end of the decade. During the period 2003–2006, regulators in Europe and the United States approved 32 biopharmaceuticals for human use, including hormones and growth factors, therapeutic enzymes, vaccines, and…
Upstream Processing
Vendor Voice: A New Paradigm for Bacterial Strain Engineering
From rapidly obtaining sufficient amounts of active protein in early stage development to cost effectively producing kilogram and even metric ton quantities for commercial supply, protein expression is critical at every stage of biopharmaceutical drug development. Having a high-performance protein expression platform across all stages is invaluable for the speed and success of protein and vaccine development. Historically, biopharmaceutical researchers and process development scientists have used Escherichia coli in their laboratories to generate small quantities of protein. If target expression…
Automated Closed-Loop Solution for Bioreactors and Fermentors
Today, there is much discussion regarding the promise of improved insight into bioprocess industry processes. Look to the pages of industry publications such as this one, and you’ll see that industry leaders in process measurement and control have begun to discuss openly the potential for simulating and modeling bioprocesses. “Important opportunities such as the application of mass spectrometers, dissolved carbon dioxide probes, and inferential measurements of metabolic processes have come to fruition today opening the door to more advanced process…
Guide to Irradiation and Sterilization Validation of Single-Use Bioprocess Systems
Single-use bioprocess manufacturing systems increasingly are being implemented by the biopharmaceutical industry based on safety, time, and cost-reduction benefits. These disposable systems are used to process or contain fluids ranging from culture media, additives, and buffers, to bulk intermediates and final formulations. In many cases microbial control or sterility is required to ensure product purity and safety. Radiation sterilization is a common means of microbial control and sterilization applied to single-use systems. The standard methods for validating radiation sterilization are…
Moving On in Cell Culture
Record-breaking titer outputs in mammalian cell culture systems in the past few years have pushed the industry to a new crisis of sorts: resolving the downstream bottleneck. However, the cell culture and fermentation groups at biopharmaceutical companies aren’t yet ready to sit back and rest on their laurels. Instead, they are moving forward, tackling the downstream issue with upstream modifications and continuing their drive for more cost-efficient processing. The Cell Culture and Upstream Processing track will focus on cell culture…
Current Status of Protein Quantification Technologies
With the help of rapid advancements in molecular biology and genetic engineering, a rising number of biotherapeutics are being developed and marketed. The quality and safety requirements for this class of active ingredients has steadily increased over the decades since Eli Lilly put forth the first insulin manufactured using genetically modified organisms in 1982. This has led to dynamic developments in protein analysis and proteomics intended to meet a growing demand for new technologies and sophisticated analytical techniques to characterize…
Cell Cultivation Process Transfer and Scale-Up
Discovery, development, and commercialization of novel biologics frequently involve collaboration between two or more companies. In the context of these business relationships, transfer of technology from one institution to another is a crucial step that needs to be executed flawlessly and rapidly. Follow-up activities usually include the development of productive, reliable, and scalable processes and are equally important because they are usually on the critical path to market. PRODUCT FOCUS: MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIESPROCESS FOCUS: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (PRODUCTION) AND ANALYTICAL METHODS DEVELOPMENTWHO…
Development of an Antibody Screening Assay for Selection of Production Cell Lines
Biopharmaceuticals such as recombinant monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) account for a significant proportion of all new drugs (1,2,3). Although manufacturing site capacities have expanded and process efficiencies have improved greatly, there is still some concern the current biomanufacturing capacity worldwide might not meet increasing market demands (1, 2). PRODUCT FOCUS: RECOMBINANT PROTEINSPROCESS FOCUS: PRODUCTION PROCESS DEVELOPMENTWHO SHOULD READ: QA/QC, PROCESS DEVELOPMENT, AND ANALYTICAL PERSONNELKEYWORDS: CELL LINE DEVELOPMENT, SCREENING ASSAY, MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES, FC PROTEINS, CHO, IGG, HTRF, ANTIBODY TITER, CELL LINE PRODUCTIVITY,…
Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Rapid, Simultaneous Monitoring
The use of cellular physiology to make target molecules has been practiced for centuries, with early examples being the production of wine and beer through yeast fermentation. Single (e.g., bacteria and yeast) and multicellular (plant or animal) organisms can be harnessed to produce otherwise chemically complex, low-yield, or chemically uncharacterized materials. These include “lock-and-key” receptor complexes with perfect stereochemical specificity, large-scale protein scaffolds, or antibiotics. One example is penicillin, with a sensitive β-lactam ring structure at its core (1). Mass-production…
Automated Closed-Loop Solution for Bioreactors and Fermentors
Today, there is much discussion regarding the promise of improved insight into bioprocess industry processes. Look to the pages of industry publications such as this one, and you’ll see that industry leaders in process measurement and control have begun to discuss openly the potential for simulating and modeling bioprocesses. “Important opportunities such as the application of mass spectrometers, dissolved carbon dioxide probes, and inferential measurements of metabolic processes have come to fruition today opening the door to more advanced process…