Upstream Process Optimization

BOC Sciences provides upstream process optimization services for microbial fermentation to enhance the strains’ manufacturing efficiency and capacity. Our advanced automation facilities and extensive experience in process optimization offer a comprehensive solution to reduce the cost of microbial fermentation and meet the needs of various industrial fields, including biologics, pharmaceutical, food, and others. Our process optimization covers different phases of fermentation, from lab scale, pilot scale to commercial production.

Introduction

Fermentation refers to the production of target compounds utilizing a mass culture of microbes. Fermentation industries apply microbial strains typically grown on a large scale to produce valuable metabolites or carry out critical biochemical transformations. The upstream process of fermentation includes the selection of microbial hosts, such as bacteria, cyanobacteria, yeasts, fungi, etc., strains improvement and strains breeding. The growth of microbial depends upon the cell's culture conditions. Hence, fermentation medium is critical in supporting the growth of strain. Metabolites production depends on microbial strains' growth rate. Thus the optimization of culture conditions is an essential part of upstream process fermentation. In addition, upstream process optimization also includes high-throughput cell sorting, expansion of cell culture volumes and densities, use of systems biology for host cell line improvement, process design and media development, particularly the introduction of automated systems in the optimization process.

Application of Upstream Process Optimization

Nowadays, the use of microbial strains for biological drugs and vaccines manufacturing is widespread through the pharmaceutical industry. Expansion of novel biologics is under increasing pressure so to reduce costs and compete with biosimilars. Therefore, upstream processes need to be improved in order to enhance efficiency and yield. Process optimization significantly reduces cell manufacturing costs and ensures the commercial viability of relevant products for therapeutic use. For example, it is relatively difficult to remove the impurities of antibody-drug during downstream purification, so upstream process optimization is in demand. For gene therapy, the production of viral vectors is often one of the most expensive components of the supply chain, and upstream process optimization can reduce the risk of microbial contamination during production while producing viral vectors economically.

Our Advantages

Over 20 years of experience in traditional strain technology.
Large-scale industrial fermentation tanks of different volumes, from 4,000L to 12,000L, over 100,000 liters capability in total.
Optimized medium selection and cell culture conditions.
High rate of microbial strains growth.
Hermetically tight concept and sterile process.
Highly reproducible process control.
Cost-effective and high-quality products.
High product titer and low impurity composition.

Our Methods

Strains development refers to applying various molecular and synthetic biology methods to improve microbial strains and enhance their metabolic capacities.

Cell line development and medium optimization, focus on a robust generation of a high product titer and increased productivity.

Different fermentation methods.

Solid-state fermentation (SSF)
Liquid state fermentation (LSF)/Submerged fermentation (SmF)

Concepts of Quality by Design (QbD) guides production and maximize the product's efficacy and safety.

High-throughput (HTP) methods permit running many screening experiments on a microscopic scale and can be performed with minimal amounts of material.

Project Workflow

Customer advisory
Project discussion
Selection of microbial host
Labs scale R&D and scaling up of fermentation
Evaluation of the process and industrial strains
Project delivery