The increase in yield is a boost for contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) Richter-Helm’s Phase III clinical trial preparation service and provides validation of Upfront’s technology, which the company believes can save biotechs time and money.
Rob Noel, global manager, business development at Upfront, told in-PharmaTechnologist that the company has been “quite swamped” with interest in its second generation Expanded Bed Adsorption (EBA) technology.
Noel explained that the technology was initially marketed at industrial clients but through modifications Upfront has now entered the plasma processing and biotech markets.
The move into the biotech sector has seen Upfront launch three products used in the direct capture of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) from bioreactor mixture.
Richter-Helm’s testing of the system demonstrated that homogenate from the bioreactor can be processed to clarified, partially purified material in one working day, decreasing the possibility of product degradation.
In addition money can be saved because the technology uses significantly less buffer than rival systems.
Simplifying operations
The technology consists of a column through which content from the bioreactor is pumped. In the column are chromatographic adsorbents that capture protein molecules in one downstream process.
By removing the need for prior filtration of bioreactor material Upfront’s system simplifies the process and reduces the number of unit operations.
Removing processing steps reduces the likelihood that the user will encounter problems. In addition the system’s use of higher density adsorbents and a design that increases flow rates means the column is free from clogging and channel formation.
Noel added that the company is looking at developing a high-titer system.