An automated high inoculation density fed‐batch bioreactor, enabled through N‐1 perfusion, accommodates clonal diversity and doubles titers

Abstract

An important consideration for biopharmaceutical processes is the cost of goods (CoGs) of biotherapeutics manufacturing. CoGs can be reduced by dramatically increasing the productivity of the bioreactor process. In this study, we demonstrate that an intensified process which couples a perfused N‐1 seed reactor and a fully automated high inoculation density (HID) N stage reactor substantially increases the bioreactor productivity as compared to a low inoculation density (LID) control fed‐batch process. A panel of six CHOK1SV GS‐KO® CHO cell lines expressing three different monoclonal antibodies was evaluated in this intensified process, achieving an average 85% titer increase and 132% space–time yield (STY) increase was demonstrated when comparing the 12‐day HID process to a 15‐day LID control process. These productivity increases were enabled by automated nutrient feeding in both the N‐1 and N stage bioreactors using in‐line process analytical technologies (PAT) and feedback control. The N‐1 bioreactor utilized in‐line capacitance to automatically feed the bioreactor based on a capacitance‐specific perfusion rate (CapSPR). The N‐stage bioreactor utilized in‐line Raman spectroscopy to estimate real‐time concentrations of glucose, phenylalanine, and methionine, which are held to target set points using automatic feed additions. These automated feeding methodologies were shown to be generalizable across six cell lines with diverse feed requirements. We show this new process can accommodate clonal diversity and reproducibly achieve substantial titer uplifts compared to traditional cell culture processes, thereby establishing a baseline technology platform upon which further increases bioreactor productivity and CoGs reduction can be achieved.