An advanced micro bioreactor (AMBR) system from The Automation Partnership (TAP) is to help a therapeutics company predict how antibody-expressing cell lines will behave in large-scale bioreactors.
The system has enabled process development scientists there to simultaneously evaluate the effects of 24 different combinations of culture conditions and clones utilising a fraction of the labour and time required to perform similar experiments in laboratory-scale bioreactors, according to TAP.
After extensive trials, it has been shown that AMBR provides similar data to a five-litre bioreactor and is more reliable than using shake flasks to predict how cells will perform in bioreactors.
The antibody therapeutics company initially chose AMBR because, unlike other bioreactor mimics, it imitates the stirring action of classical bioreactors by having an internal impeller in each disposable bioreactor.
AMBR also generates enough material to perform the tests needed to analyse product quantity and quality and is designed specifically for culturing mammalian cells.
Following the evaluation at this antibody manufacturer and at other companies, TAP is working throughout the US and Europe to demonstrate how the system can reduce the time and cost of evaluating clones in comparison with using laboratory-scale bioreactors and improve their bioprocess workflow and productivity.
