Considerations for Microbial Fermentation: Single Use vs. Stainless Steel Fermenters

For decades, microbial fermentation has been used for the commercialization of biologics, with the fermentation of recombinant proteins such as insulin in stainless steel bioreactors as large as 100,000 L. A long-standing favorite within the industry, these stainless-steel fermenters boast a long history in biopharma manufacturing — though are not without their limitations.

Recent innovations in single-use fermenters, which offer an agile and cost-effective solution with reduced cleaning and validation requirements, have led single-use fermenters to gain ground quickly — but knowing when to use stainless steel versus single-use fermenters, or even a hybrid approach, can be challenging.

Join this webinar as the featured speakers discuss the pros, cons and use cases for each type of technology and what the speakers think the future holds when it comes to their sustainability within the industry. The speakers will also share things to consider when looking for a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) to partner with for fermentation needs.

Speakers

Gregor Awang, Director, Biologics Process Development, BIOVECTRA

A process development leader with an extensive track record of developing upstream and recombinant-protein downstream processes and tech transferring these processes from lab to manufacturing scale, Gregor Awang, PhD, has 25+ years of expertise in developing microbial and mammalian processes in biopharma. He has served as BIOVECTRA’s Director, Process Science & Development Services-Biologics since 2019. Dr. Awang has worked with academic collaborators to develop recombinant processes and served on the Board of Directors of Mabnet, a Canadian academic/government consortium to train SMEs in mAb production within Canada.

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Cameron Graham, Pharmaceutical Process Engineer, BIOVECTRA

Cameron Graham, P.Eng., Pharmaceutical Process Engineer, BIOVECTRA, offers nearly a decade’s worth of experience in chemical engineering, with the last five years concentrated specifically on the bio-pharmaceutical industry. In his current role at BIOVECTRA, Cameron develops upstream biologics technologies and fermentation scale up strategy, from lab to industrial scale. Cameron graduated from Dalhousie University with a degree in Chemical Engineering.

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Brady Cole, Vice President Equipment Solutions, ABEC

Brady Cole has over 25 years of technical and commercial experience in high technology industries. He began his career developing plasma deposition and etch processes for advanced microelectronics. He later moved on to product management roles in the semiconductor capital equipment industry at Mattson Technology and MKS Instruments. Since joining ABEC in 2002, Brady has held leadership positions in product management, applications, and sales.  He currently oversees ABEC’s Product function, including product development and product management.

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