Search
Close this search box.
    • Small Molecules
    • Biologics
    • Other Drug Modalities
    • SynVent Integrated Drug Discovery
      • SynVent Integrated Drug Discovery

        SynVent is Syngene’s platform for fully integrated therapeutic discovery and development across large and small molecules. 

    • Industries
    • Emerging Biopharma
      • Emerging Biopharma

        Emerging biopharma work at the forefront of science, often venturing into disease areas where little or no real-world data exists to work with or regulatory frameworks to work within.

    • Dedicated Centers
      • Dedicated Centers

        Our Dedicated Centers offer dedicated multi-disciplinary scientific teams, support personnel, and a tailormade ring-fenced and fire-walled infrastructure as per client specifications to support their  R&D  goals

    • Center for Advanced Protein Studies (CAPS)
      • Center for Advanced Protein Studies (CAPS)

        Centre for Advanced Protein Studies [CAPS] is a state-of-the-art advanced national facility located in the Syngene campus, Bangalore.

  • Careers
Search
Close this search box.

Enhancing nanofiltration efficiency in mAb production process

Every monoclonal antibody is unique, complex, vulnerable to degradation, and unstable. Additionally, the availability of specific raw materials needed for production processes is often sporadic, impacting production timelines.

Consolidating learning from many projects, Syngene scientists have designed and proven a proprietary process that takes the production timeline down to 9-12 months from the industry standard of 12-18 months. With the patent clock ticking, every additional month saved in production represents value for the client in terms of timely recognition of revenue, not to mention faster availability of therapy and treatment to patients.

Today, therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) constitute approximately 40% of the biotherapeutics market. Technological advancements have played an important role in driving new biopharmaceutical candidates into the clinic, i.e., developing broad platform approaches across the mAbs class of products. At Syngene, the biopharma development team has come up with a unique approach that offers clients a fast and efficient way to take their mAbs from the gene stage to the clinic stage.

Expediting clinical batches
Syngene scientists have consolidated their experience from multiple projects and designed a process development approach that results in expedited timelines of 9-12 months for producing the mAb from gene to GMP-grade clinical supply.

The biologics process development team has built a proprietary platform that provides a reliable starting point for any new product by analyzing extensive data from several projects. The platform for process development has been integrated with platform analytical methods to provide appropriate analytical readouts for critical product quality attributes. Once the cell line expressing the mAb is available, the platform process is evaluated at a laboratory scale. The data obtained from this study is then analyzed for prior knowledge available in the platform. Further, unique product-specific issues are tackled through statistical methodologies such as Design of Experiment (DoE) and multivariate analysis.

The platform has been tested at a commercial manufacturing scale (2KL and 500L) and ensures quick scale-up in GMP manufacturing.

Making a difference in the lives of patients
Syngene’s proprietary data platform reduces the time taken to produce mAbs from gene to GMP-grade clinical supply by several months. The platform is helping clients cut down time-to-market and reach patients faster with much-needed therapy and treatment related to mAbs.

Gene-to-GMP-grade-clinical-supply-in-nine-months

Figure 1: Gene-to-GMP drug substance workflow mapped over a *9-month period

The context

Nanofiltration is a highly effective viral clearance method in mAb manufacturing, primarily based on size exclusion. An essential part of validating the efficacy of the nanofiltration step are virus spiking studies to ensure the nanofiltration process can reliably remove viruses and meet regulatory requirements for product safety.

The requirement

A major pharmaceutical company was facing challenges in the nanofiltration step of their mAb production process. During virus spiking at 1% – 0.5% of the load volume, they encountered reduced filtration efficiency and flux decay. These issues affected the overall performance of the nanofiltration step, including increasing operational costs due to the need for frequent filter changes.

The pharma company decided to partner with Syngene to address these problems. Their goal was to improve the efficiency of the nanofiltration process in order to achieve viral clearance and reduce operational costs

Challenges posed by the nanofiltration process

  • Low protein concentration: Low protein concentration passing through the membrane resulting in reduced filtration efficiency.
  • Filter flux decay: High flux decay during protein processing affecting filter performance.
  • Low virus clearance efficiency: Need to ensure effective virus clearance while maintaining high throughput.
  • Compatibility issues: Adapting the spike percentage so that it was compatible with the filter, protein matrix, and virus concentration.

The solution

Our team approached the problem by focusing on optimizing the nanofiltration process. The solution involved a multi-step methodology.

  1. Optimization of viral load: Our Viral Testing team adjusted the viral load used in the spiking studies to a level that ensured high throughput while maintaining effective virus clearance. This was crucial for overcoming the limitations of low protein concentrations and improving filter performance.
  2. Adjustment of spike percentage: By decreasing the spike percentage in the suspension, we enhanced compatibility with the filter and protein matrix. This adjustment was critical for minimizing flux decay and maintaining effective virus clearance.
  3. Enhanced filter compatibility: We carefully matched the filter, protein matrix, and virus concentration to improve overall filtration efficiency. This included selecting filters with optimal characteristics for handling the adjusted spike percentage.
  4. Implementation and monitoring: We implemented the process in a controlled manner with continuous monitoring to ensure the flux decay remained low and the virus aggregates also remained controlled. Real-time data was used to make necessary adjustments and optimize performance.

Impact and results

After implementing our solution, the client successfully achieved the desired target throughput with flux decay levels at under 40%. The virus aggregates were effectively controlled, resulting in a more efficient and cost-effective nanofiltration process. The optimized process enabled the client to operate at higher flow rates, while maintaining effective virus clearance throughout the process. The new process also required fewer filter changes, significantly reducing overall costs.

Impact and results

The client is considering further collaboration with Syngene to explore additional optimizations and innovations in their manufacturing processes. Our expertise continues to be a key driver in advancing the client’s production capabilities and ensuring continued success in drug manufacturing.

Our ongoing capability and capacity expansion in biologics have established Syngene as one of the largest CRDMOs in India. As a trusted biologics partner, we have delivered 100 commercial batches in the last two years. Our track record of over 250 GMP batches, 150+ projects, and support for over 25 INDs across biologics modalities is a testament to our expertise

To know more about our Viral Testing and Clearance services, contact our experts

Your browser does not support this function.

To download, Please share your details

To view or email, Please share your details view

To download, Please share your details