Advanced Bioscience Laboratories Inc. (ABL) Scaled Up Lentiviral Production

The use of lentivirus vector in the production of CAR-T and gene therapies is increasing. Frequently, lentiviral vector production is conducted in multi-layered flatware vessels or fixed-bed bioreactors like the popular iCELLis bioreactor. The iCELLis bioreactor system is a fixed-bed bioreactor comprised of carriers made of non-woven medical-grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers. The iCELLis bioreactor provides optimal growing conditions for adherent cells employing a closed, automated, single-use platform.

A recent experiment was conducted by Advanced BioScience Laboratories and Pall to scale up a lentivirus process from the iCELLis Nano bioreactor to the iCELLis 500+ bioreactor with very little development work. The goal was to produce lentiviral titers in the iCELLis 500+ bioreactor greater than or equal to the iCELLis Nano bioreactor and to use nutrient and metabolite analysis to determine if cell growth is similar between the two.