Several developing countries, including India and China, have young biopharmaceutical industries that have based much of their growth potential on the production of what are currently known as “biogeneric” products, or “bioequivalent” versions of biologics that have already been licensed in Western countries. With a disdain for foreign patents, an established philosophy of copying Western innovations, and success in generic pharmaceutical manufacturing, this approach appeared to be the logical way to build a biologic manufacturing industry. However, there are numerous problems with this development strategy. First and foremost is the inherent incompatability of the very concepts associated with biogeneric products…
BioProcessing Journal Posts
From an intellectual property (IP) standpoint, probably the two biggest problems I encounter in my practice for early-to-middle stage technology companies are: (1) their failure to fully understand and keep abreast of the competitive intellectual property environment , and (2) their failure to institute procedures that will permit and encourage development of a strategic intellectual property portfolio. By “strategic,” I mean an intellectual property portfolio that focuses on both an offensive and defensive position — a portfolio that not only covers the product and all aspects of its manufacture, production, and applications (defensive portfolio development), but also provides significant blocking positions with respect to competitors’ efforts…
A growing number of separations’ scientists and process developers are looking beyond protein A sorbents for capture and initial purification of monoclonal antibodies. A variety of strategic and operational goals have prompted examination of alternative immunoglobulin-selective sorbents. Most broadly, many workers wish to eliminate design considerations associated with leached protein A. Also cited is a preference for sorbents that can withstand stringent cleanup using 1 M sodium hydroxide. In some applications, it is desirable to avoid the low-pH elution conditions typically employed with protein A sorbents — conditions that can foster aggregate formation. In still other cases, the target antibody may bind poorly to protein A. Finally, there may be interest in evaluation of immunoglobulin-selective sorbents less costly than protein A sorbents…
The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) is a 184-year-old organization that has been in the forefront of technology since its inception. From publishing a manual about how to prepare therapeutic potions, USP has evolved into a compendium of standards and information on manufactured pharmaceutical products, with more than 4,000 monographs covering drug substances and biologics, and their dosage forms, excipients, and nutritional supplements. It is not surprising that the USP initiative in cell and gene therapy and tissue engineering has closely followed the emergence of these technologies…
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis, along with injuries such as stroke affect millions of individuals worldwide and costs healthcare systems billions of dollars each year in North America alone. The diseases result from the death of specific cell types within the central nervous system. Current treatment efforts have focused primarily on alleviating symptoms using pharmaceuticals. However, recent advances in our understanding of these conditions, coupled with advances in biology, genomics, transplantation, and biochemical engineering are making cell therapy (the transplantation of viable cells to replace dead cells) more attractive as a potential avenue of treatment…
There is an increasing emphasis in clinical and translational research on the discovery and development of biomarkers that are indicative of a disease state. While biomarkers are not exclusively proteins, the emergence of new mass spectrometry platforms combined with the human genome databases has rejuvenated the search for biomarker proteins, especially in readily available body fluids such as blood. There is currently a tremendous need for an improved ability to “mine” the full depth of the proteome in a high throughput manner. To advance clinical proteomics, methodologies are needed that can accommodate higher throughput while facilitating the ability to observe large numbers of protein events…
Single-use, disposable components offer many advantages in the manufacturing of biologics. They are clean and ready to use when supplied, which obviates the need for sterilization and decreases the requirement for services such as water for irrigation (WFI) systems and steam generators. Disposable components are not used for subsequent operations, eliminating the chance of cross contamination between process runs. Long lead times for equipment installation can be avoided because the need for stainless steel equipment is reduced or eliminated. Systems are less complex, therefore engineering requirements are also reduced. There is no need for clean-in-place (CIP) or steam-in-place (SIP) operations, along with the associated piping, valves, controls, or pressure rating of vessels. Moreover, the use of disposable components reduces the complexity of validation…