Drug discovery is an inherently inefficient process. It takes thousands of failed compounds before one can get approved as safe and efficacious, and this effort does not come at a low cost. Because of this, the industry is constantly looking for ways to bring safe, compliant, and profitable drugs to market faster and cheaper.
One avenue to achieve this that is growing in popularity is flexible factories and the utilization of single-use technology, both enabling low-cost biomanufacturing without sacrificing quality. In a recent article on Pharmaceutical Online, Merck’s Jeff Johnson stated if a company could achieve titers above 10 grams per liter in a single-use facility, there would no longer be a need to build stainless steel bioreactor facilities. This change is one he believes would alter the future of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.
At Patheon’s mammalian cGMP production in Brisbane, Australia, single-use technology, in combination with internal patented technology, is being used to clarify cell densities at 200 million cells per milliliter and produce titers up to 20 grams per liter. With titers this high, the future Johnson suggested is becoming more possible and the Patheon facility exemplifies the facility needed to survive the future of pharma. But how did they do it?