Introduction
BPI East, part of Biotech Week Boston (BWB), took place the week of September 23, 2024. This ebook looks to combine much of the thought leadership lessons and technology innovations exhibited at the event by the many bioprocessing pioneers and third-party experts present with observations from our inhouse reporting team.
The BioProcess International publication has been at the forefront of biomanufacturing commentary for more than 20 years. Our editorial staff, with dozens of years of industry experience between them, were let loose inside the conference rooms within the Hynes Convention Center to bring you their reflections from the conference.
On the upstream, our associate technical editor Sarah Stefancin writes about the increasing demands for improved efficiency and output being called for at BPI East, with an emphasis on scalability, higher expression titers, smaller process footprints, and reduced overall cost of goods. To meet these challenges, manufacturers are focusing on maintaining consistent performance and product quality during scale-up processes by defining and managing scale-dependent parameters while addressing performance gaps between screening and production phases. Additionally, she references a talk from pharma giant Sanofi about the use of advanced technologies such as digital-twin models and data-driven optimization to refine processes, predict outcomes, and enhance understanding of various aspects of upstream production. Stefancin also describes a talk from Takeda highlighting significant advancements being made in areas like antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) and cell and gene therapies (CGTs), with companies learning from past experiences to implement more robust manufacturing practices that can meet the growing demands of global supply chains in the future.
The ‘Recovery and Purification’ track focused on advancements in the application of digital technologies, and managing editor Brian Gazaille reflects on how these are transforming the field by offering more efficient alternatives to time-consuming and resource-intensive methods. He highlights how machine learning applications are now being used to both enhance chromatography-resin screening and identify molecular descriptors for therapeutic proteins, which will be crucial in training machine learning-based tools to predict resin selectivity based on product-protein characteristics. Gazaille also writes about the use of mechanistic modeling, particularly in reagent clearance assessments during ultrafiltration/diafiltration processes. Based on a presentation from a senior scientist at Amgen, the approach, Gazaille writes, has the potential to drastically reduce the time and experimental effort required for optimization, with some estimates suggesting improvements of up to 80%.
Editor-in-chief Cheryl Scott, meanwhile, focuses on the rapid transformation taking place in cell line development. The field is leveraging cutting-edge technologies in genetics, automation, and data science to enhance speed, efficiency, and product quality in upstream bioprocessing. Her piece discusses how CRISPR technology and transposase/transposon platforms are at the forefront of genetic engineering advancements, despite patent discussions complicating implementation. Meanwhile, other technologies for high-throughput screening and automation have become crucial in accelerating timelines. Data-driven approaches and digitalization are generating vast amounts of information, with biosensor technology emerging as a promising tool for enhancing productivity. Furthermore, Scott’s piece explains, while CHO cell lines remain the cornerstone of biopharmaceutical production, other expression systems are gaining viability.
Finally, this ebook contains a host of other content taken from BPI East, but our BioProcess Insider editorial team were also in attendance, bringing daily reports and recaps from the conference and exhibit hall while moderating fireside chats and panel discussions. For a full look at the Insider coverage from BPI East and BWB, click here.
Enjoy, and see you at BPI West in San Diego , March 18-21 2025
