Lifecycle management for recombinant protein production using mammalian cell culture technology.

Product lifecycle management refers to the oversight process and activities carried out to fully realize the commercial potential and value of a product in the marketplace. It is typical for many changes to be introduced to the production processes and testing methods for biopharmaceutical drugs over their lifetime in the commercial marketplace. Technology lifecycle management, as discussed here, refers to the management of the different phases or generations of processes and methods used to make and test the active biopharmaceutical ingredient or drug product, and the adoption of different devices used to present the drug product to patients. The factors to consider when making changes to a commercial biopharmaceutical manufacturing process as part of a technology lifecycle management program are discussed. A case study outlines one approach taken in bringing forward a major process change to a cell culture process for the production of a therapeutic recombinant protein.

Application of quality by design principles to the development and technology transfer of a major process improvement for the manufacture of a recombinant protein.

This study describes the application of quality by design (QbD) principles to the development and implementation of a major manufacturing process improvement for a commercially distributed therapeutic protein produced in Chinese hamster ovary cell culture. The intent of this article is to focus on QbD concepts, and provide guidance and understanding on how the various components combine together to deliver a robust process in keeping with the principles of QbD. A fed-batch production culture and a virus inactivation step are described as representative examples of upstream and downstream unit operations that were characterized. A systematic approach incorporating QbD principles was applied to both unit operations, involving risk assessment of potential process failure points, small-scale model qualification, design and execution of experiments, definition of operating parameter ranges and process validation acceptance criteria followed by manufacturing-scale implementation and process validation. Statistical experimental designs were applied to the execution of process characterization studies evaluating the impact of operating parameters on product quality attributes and process performance parameters. Data from process characterization experiments were used to define the proven acceptable range and classification of operating parameters for each unit operation. Analysis of variance and Monte Carlo simulation methods were used to assess the appropriateness of process design spaces. Successful implementation and validation of the process in the manufacturing facility and the subsequent manufacture of hundreds of batches of this therapeutic protein verifies the approaches taken as a suitable model for the development, scale-up and operation of any biopharmaceutical manufacturing process.