Animal-Derived Supplements

The first MAb was produced over thirty years ago, in 1975 by Milstein and Köhler. Since then, the cell culture market has been optimizing these cell lines for use in the production of therapeutic proteins. The CHO (Chinese hamster ovary) cell line is the most common mammalian cell line successfully developed for the production of therapeutic proteins.

The overarching benefit of using mammalian cell culture is the creation of a protein with many of the characteristics and the structure of the natural protein, therefore providing better end-functionality and reducing the possibility of adverse immunological reactions. Mammalian cell lines also offer the opportunity for post-translational modification of the resultant protein, such as via glycosylation.

Despite their many advantages, mammalian cells are among the most complex to work with from a bioprocessing perspective. Even though they are produced in lower amounts, their processing and scale-up parameters can be more complex and include:

• Supplementation requirements
• Controlled feeding strategy
• Advanced and complex media needs