Tag: <span>purification</span>

Despite the existence of effective vaccines against Hepatitis B virus, the infection with it remains an important problem worldwide due to its association with hepatocellular carcinoma. Several procedures have been used to purify the Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) for immunization purposes. Immuno-purification using HBsAg-specific murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) has been one of the most successful strategies for such a purpose due to the high antigen selectivity (high affinity) of MAbs…

Biologics Production

In order to unravel new protein activities and functions, we have expressed and purified a large number of human proteins. We have chosen to study secreted proteins and the extra-cellular domains of putative single transmembrane domain-containing proteins. In order to retain the natural protein characteristics as far as possible, we have used a mammalian expression system. Human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells were chosen as they have been shown to possess a high protein-secretory potential. The secreted proteins were expressed with a carboxy-terminal tag and purified by affinity chromatography. Each protein was produced at a routine scale from 500 ml cell cultures, and the secreted protein was purified from the culture supernatant…

Biologics Production Research

The aim in process filtrations is to purify the liquid preparation by removing particulate impurities while obtaining as large a throughput as possible under practical conditions. The rate of flow should be expeditious enough to meet time constraints when necessary. This places a focus on the applied differential pressure level that motivates the liquid flow. A balance must be sought. Higher differential pressures increase the flow rates but may decrease throughputs by compaction of the filter cake. Also, higher applied pressures may minimize the adsorptive retention of particles. Deciding which is the proper filter involves small-scale filtration trials. The choice of the filter having been made, its size, in terms of the area necessary for the processing of the production batch, is arrived at by extrapolations from the small-scale tests that were performed…

Biologics Production

The diversity of the antibody-antigen interaction and our ability to manipulate this interaction has created an enormous potential for the discovery and development of IgG therapeutics and diagnostics. Along with the expanding clinical pipeline of antibody products, increasing efforts have been devoted to improving antibody production and purification procedures. In order to meet drug discovery needs with limited resources, the so called “flexible generic purification scheme” approach has been adopted to develop a robust manufacturing process that allows the application of similar operational conditions to different monoclonal antibody molecules…

Biologics Production

Optimal process development creates unit operations that effectively generate, separate, and concentrate a broad array of products. Historically, tangential flow filtration (TFF) process capabilities have been limited by technological and flow restrictions. Recent innovations in TFF module design have dramatically increased the capabilities of TFF to better achieve processing objectives. NCSRT has established a best practices protocol for developing clarification, fractionation, and concentration processes for mammalian, bacteria, yeast, insect, and virus based production systems. This article presents the development platform, supplemented with application-specific expertise…

Biologics Production

The number of viral vectors designed for gene therapy applications in the cGMP pipeline is staggering. Similar in scope to the flurry of recombinant protein products of the 1980s and the monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) of the 1990s, viral vector-based products are surging from research labs and universities into contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), ultimately destined for use in clinical trials. Unlike recombinant proteins and MAbs, both of which sometimes require grams of vialed final product to start Phase I studies, the amount of material required to move a viral vector-based product into clinical trials can be minute in comparison. Of all the viral vectors currently in clinical trials, more than 25% are based on adenovirus…

Cell & Gene Therapy Viral Vectors

Manufacturers must demonstrate, with a very high degree of assurance, that biopharmaceutical products derived from mammalian cells or from human plasma are safe and free of viral contamination. Viruses can be physically removed from most proteins using filtration. Often air diffusion is used as a nondestructive test to ensure that a process filter is installed properly and free of defects that can compromise virus retention. In this article, theoretical models were used to relate air and liquid flow rates through integral and defective filters. The effect of defect diameter and defect density on the virus retentive ability of a filter was also modeled…

Manufacturing

Poliovirus is a small (28-30 nm diameter) non-enveloped RNA virus belonging to the family Picornaviridae. The ability of poliovirus to cross the blood-brain barrier and its natural infectivity of central nervous system (CNS) tissue via the CD155 receptor, found exclusively in primates, has promoted the investigation of an attenuated poliovirus for the treatment of malignant gliomas. However, use of the virus in clinical testing is limited due to low yields obtained from conventional purification methodologies…

Biologics Production

With the advent of the first gene therapy product to market, the industry faces the challenge of mass-producing high-purity viral particles and plasmids. The concept of manufacturing therapeutic genes rather than therapeutic proteins as marketable products is still in its infancy. Although manufacturers of biopharmaceuticals have decades of experience in the purification of proteins, virus and plasmid products pose unique challenges that cannot be addressed without some modifications to traditional, protein-based approaches…

Biologics Production Cell & Gene Therapy Viral Vectors

The last 30 years have seen rapid and dramatic developments in recombinant DNA technology and the related biological sciences. In 1972, Paul Berg’s group used restriction enzymes to cut DNA in half and then used ligases to stick the pieces of the DNA back together. By doing this, they produced the first recombinant DNA. Within a year, the first genetically engineered bacterium existed. A little more than ten years later, recombinant human insulin was approved for diabetic patients and became the first recombinant healthcare product. Before the end of the 1980s, the first gene therapy trial had occurred. Today, a large number of recombinant proteins are used as marketed drugs and even more are in clinical trials targeting a wide range of diseases…

Biologics Production