Bioengineering to improve "cell factories" for biopharmaceutical production
A Sheffield research project at the interface between Bioscience and Engineering is aiming to increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of biopharmaceutical production processes.
Biopharmaceuticals are the next generation of high value therapeutic drugs derived from recombinant DNA technology. Recombinant monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) are the largest generic category of biopharmaceuticals in development and are predominantly manufactured by mammalian cells in culture. Mabs are a potentially revolutionary treatment for a range of serious diseases, including cancers and rheumatoid arthritis.
However, biopharmaceuticals like Mabs are very expensive to produce which means that the cost of treating patients with these drugs is very high. Engineering the "cell factory" to increase Mab production, and so reduce the scale of manufacturing processes, has proved difficult, largely because researchers do not systematically understand the diverse cellular processes involved.
Funded by two UK Research Councils (the EPSRC and BBSRC), Professor David James, of the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, is leading an interdisciplinary research project that combines advanced gene expression technology, molecular cell biology and mathematical modelling to quantitatively dissect the process of recombinant Mab production by mammalian cells. In essence, the project aims to develop a fundamental understanding of how cells can be manipulated to increase production of recombinant proteins, which will then allow him to model more efficient, rationally designed production processes to increase efficiency, thereby reducing costs.
Professor James' project aims to further our understanding of the biological processes involved in biopharmaceutical production in order to develop faster, cheaper, scaled-down versions of current bio-manufacturing processes. Professor James explains: "Current manufacturing processes treat cells like a 'black box'. What is needed, and what we are developing through this project, is a deeper understanding of all the processes involved in cellular manufacture of recombinant therapeutic proteins. This will facilitate scaled-down, more efficient processes which in turn will hopefully reduce production costs and enable wider access to these revolutionary drugs".
Professor James' laboratory is working in collaboration with industrial partners, including Lonza Biologics, Pfizer, Wyeth, Pall, Asterion and MedImmune. "Academia performs the reverse engineering work, in order to further our understanding of cellular functions that underpin bio-product manufacturing, while our industry partners provide the model processes and manufacturing technology. This synergistic way of working has already enabled us to file a patent, with Sheffield spin-out company Asterion, for a new means of manufacturing recombinant proteins".
For further information, please contact Ian Kingsbury:
tel: 0114 222 1456
email : i.r.kingsbury@sheffield.ac.uk
Professor James' University web page
Notes: This research was co-funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Research Council (BBSRC), two of the UK Government's 7 Research Councils.