Tag: <span>virocyt</span>

Rapid and Effective Monitoring of Baculovirus Concentrations in Bioprocess Fluid Using the ViroCyt® Virus Counter®

The licensing of recombinant vaccines produced using the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) has cleared the way for the production of a variety of biopharmaceuticals produced using this technology. Obtaining accurate estimates of both total and infectious baculovirus titer in upstream and downstream bioprocess fluids is one of many process controls that will need to be addressed during the development phase of a product’s lifecycle. Traditional plaque-titer methods require 5–7 days of incubation in order to reveal plaques that may be enumerated, and is further complicated by plaques created by multiple viruses that may be scored as a single plaque, thereby lowering the titer estimate. Titer assays based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have been developed, but they measure the presence of baculovirus genes, not virus particles. This often results in titers one or two logs higher than the actual titer. Immunoassays correlate with host cell infection and virus replication, but they too can be time-consuming and difficult to interpret. Our goal was to identify a method that would provide estimates of both total and infectious virus particles in as close to real-time as possible. We have evaluated the ViroCyt Virus Counter over the course of three years and have found it to provide accurate and reproducible estimates of both titer types in as little as 30 minutes. We have created an algorithm that converts total virus particle counts into estimates of infectious titer and tested these values in virus amplifications. The Virus Counter method of titer determination has also been used to track the quantity of virus particles in the culture supernatant of stirred-tank bioreactors infected with standard baculovirus stocks and with baculovirus-infected insect cells (BIIC)…

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Biologics Production

baculovirus express system baculovirus expression system baculovirus titer baculovirus vector BEVS biologics biopharmaceutical manufacturing biopharmaceuticals cell counting cell culture cgmp immunoassays insect cell culture recombinant vaccines vaccine production viral titer virocyt

Virotherapy Process Optimization

An emerging application of viruses involves engineering them to treat diseases using a number of approaches. Broadly defined under the “virotherapy” umbrella, these include viral vectors used for gene therapy, oncolytic viruses, and viral immunotherapy. Although a majority of these products are in various stages of clinical development, the diversity of the therapeutic targets and wealth of future opportunities is encouraging. A significant challenge, as it is for any virus-based technology, is gaining a clear picture of the quality of a sample at any given point—from early research and development through manufacturing and product release. Of prime concern is the quantification of viruses, which in the past, has relied on slow, labor-intensive, subjective methods such as plaque titer assays and electron microscopic imaging. However, the diversity of new viral technologies now being used as the basis for innovative drugs and vaccines requires advanced, sophisticated analytical systems. In this white paper, we discuss how the real-time enumeration of viruses made possible by the ViroCyt® Virus Counter® 3100 can significantly enhance the pace of virotherapy product development…

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Analytics Biologics Cell & Gene Therapy Pre-Clinical Development Process Automation Viral Vectors

gene therapy oncolytic applications virocyt virotherapy virus counter

Direct, Real-Time Antibody-Based Quantification of Baculovirus

The impact of viruses—in geopolitical human health issues, in the production of vaccines and recombinant proteins, and in gene therapy and cancer treatments—highlights the need for a better understanding of the systems that are dependent upon them. A primary barrier to recognizing the full potential of these life-saving biomedical approaches is the scarcity of analytical methods capable of providing biologically relevant information without hindering the pace of development and production. ViroCyt® is a Colorado-based biotechnology company with one overriding focus: Enabling the rapid and specific quantification of viruses and virus-related particles. The ViroCyt Virus Counter® was designed to meet this objective.

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Baculovirus Expression Technology Biologics Production Process Automation Research

antibody labeling bacmam baculovirus gene transfer mammalian cells nucleic acids quantification of baculovirus vaccines virocyt