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Expression systems royalties battle: with all of the new expressions systems being developed, companies must decide what improved production and yield are really worth.

Article Excerpt
Biopharmaceutical companies generally try to avoid paying royalties on novel technologies, including novel expression systems, in part because of the inability to predict revenue flow after a product is commercialized. But even when a new expression system could significantly reduce cost, many remain hesitant. Despite this, adopting new technologies continues to be fundamental to improving product quality and cost.

"High tech industries adopt new technologies so they can produce better, cheaper, and faster. Sticking with what you know may seem safe, but in biomanufacturing this may have more to do with the lack of knowledge about emerging alternatives," says Ronald Rader, author of the BioPlan Associates report, Biopharmaceutical Expression Systems: Current and Future Manufacturing Platforms. (1)

Of course, one reason for the limited adoption of expression system technologies in biomanufacturing is the conservative, regulated nature of the industry. Tillman Gerngross, PhD, professor of engineering at Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH, USA), co-founder and CEO of Adimab Inc. (Lebanon, NH, USA) and co-founder, and ex-CSO at GlycoFi, which was recently sold to Merck & Co. (Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA), says that, "Making things cheaper while increasing regulatory risk has not been a winning formula in this industry; consider transgenic animals and plants."

Rather, Gerngross believes adopting technologies that improve product quality in ways that have...

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