New Cell Removal Technique Could Make Drugs Cheaper

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Main Category: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 27 Aug 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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A new method to remove dead cells from the cell cultures that are routinely used to manufacture protein-based drugs has been developed by researchers at the University of Edinburgh.

Protein-based drugs are ever more being prescribed to treat various diseases. To produce these drugs, it is usually most efficient to harness the efforts of cells in mass culture which have been given the ability to produce the protein. This makes them more expensive to produce, particularly as they must be developed in these cell cultures under optimal conditions, then further purified for use.

This team of scientists has capitalized on a technology using magnetic beads linked to special antibodies that hook to dead cells without affecting the remaining health cells. Using a magnet, these beads, with the dead cells, can be removed. The living cells that persevere can then produce the proteins more effectively. "We are essentially mimicking what happens in the body when scavenger cells remove dead and abnormal cells. If the dead cells are not removed, then this affects how healthy cells behave," says Professor Chris Gregory, of the University's Centre for Inflammation Research. "Not only will this make the production of drugs more efficient, but it will also streamline research into new medicines which use cell culture."

They have found that by removing these dead cells, the productivity of a cell culture can be almost doubled. Other labor and time-intensive methods of cell removal, such as spinning cultures at high speeds, could be replaced by this new method. Many of these methods also harm the healthy cells, impeding productivity.

Immunosolv, a spin-out company, has been formed to help market this technology, in conjunction with Scottish Enterprise's Proof of Concept Programme and a SMART award.

For more information about the University of Edinburgh, please see http://www.ed.ac.uk/.

Written by Anna Sophia McKenney
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