Highly Efficient Production Of Adeno-Associated Virus Using The Corning® Ascent™ Fixed Bed Reactor Process Development System

By Yulong Hong, Lori E. Romeo, Ann M. Ferrie, Vasiliy N. Goral, and Jennifer L. Weber, Corning Research and Development Corporation, Corning

This study evaluates the performance of the Corning Ascent fixed bed reactor (FBR) system during associated virus (AAV) production, comparing it with a similar FBR system and 2D cell culture controls. The Ascent FBR system was found to enable uniform cell growth and transfection efficiency. Techniques such as crystal violet staining, flow cytometry, and AAV Titer Quantitation were used to examine cell distribution and behavior in the bioreactor. The study showed a consistent cell distribution across the bioreactor, with an average cell yield of 4.3 ± 0.6 x 105/cm2. The system also revealed a high harvest yield and cell viability of over 95%, supporting its use in cell seed train scale-up before virus production. The total AAV titer yield from the Ascent FBR system was significantly higher than that from a comparable bioreactor, and its productivity was comparable to traditional 2D tissue culture vessels. The study concludes that the Ascent FBR system is a scalable platform for AAV production.