Innovations in perfusion bioprocessing: Tailoring media, enhancing productivity and scaling strategy

Perfusion is a cell culture mode that is gaining popularity for the production of monoclonal antibodies and their derivatives. It delivers increased space-time yields (STY) and short residence time of the recombinant protein in the bioreactor but is also the enabler for various process intensification strategies. Successful perfusion processes depend on media that facilitate rapid growth during the exponential phase and efficient protein production in the stationary phase, all while minimizing media consumption rates. Making the transition from fed-batch to perfusion mode often requires the formulation of a novel medium to support a higher cell density and increased productivity while maintaining optimal product quality.

In this webinar, we present a method for deriving perfusion culture media by leveraging existing fed-batch media and feeds. Our approach includes strategies for adapting media depth to the cell-specific perfusion rate (CSPR) and mitigating lactate overflow metabolism under perfusion conditions. Notably, the achieved CSPRs were demonstrated to be as low as 10 pL/cell/d. Furthermore, we illustrate the successful transfer of the developed perfusion process from small-scale applications to an integrated continuous bioprocess at a 50 L pilot scale.

This session offers valuable insights into the optimization and scalability of perfusion media and processes, contributing to the advancement of biotechnological processes for monoclonal antibody production.

Presenter: Andreas Castan, PhD - Strategic Technologies Leader, Cytiva