Andrew Sinclair
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In recent years, disposable systems have moved from fluid handling to processing—a clear sign of the growing acceptance of
disposable technologies. This acceptance is also evident in the increased use of disposable bioreactors in biopharmaceutical
manufacturing.
When talking about bioreactors, we must recognize that different microorganisms place different demands on the bioreactor.
For instance, E. coli fermentations are complete in 24 hours, whereas a mammalian cell culture takes 12–20 days. The current range of disposable
bioreactors is limited to the less demanding cell culture applications. The performance of the agitation system, the sparging
of gases, and the ability to provide good temperature control as well as good instrumentation and control, are critical to
the efficiency of a disposable bioreactor.
THE FIRST STEPS
The disposable bioreactor has attracted a lot of interest from suppliers, who see this as the first step in the development
of a wholly disposable bioprocess. The first commercially successful bioreactors appeared in 1998, in the rocking bag format,
developed and sold by Wave Biotech, now part of GE Healthcare. Initially, their main applications were in the research and
development (R&D) arena, followed by their use in pilot plant operations. Today, they find application in inoculum preparation
and some smaller-scale manufacturing. As applications move from R&D into manufacturing, bioreactor requirements change, with
the production environment demanding systems that are scalable, robust, and reliable.
SCALABILITY
A major impediment to wide-scale adoption of disposable bioreactors in manufacturing has been scale. For large-scale manufacturing,
the 6 X 12,000-L bioreactor module (often referred to as the six pack) was seen as the standard format in stainless steel.
Until recently, disposable bioreactors have been limited to 500 L or below, and there have been concerns about scale-up and
scale-down. But the industry is changing. According to Johannes Roebers, senior vice president and head of biologic strategy,
Planning & Operations, at Elan Pharmaceuticals, disposables systems are not suitable for every manufacturing operation at
the moment. Roebers believes, however, that as titers increase, the bioreactor volumes required in manufacturing will reduce,
and in certain situations disposable bioreactors will become a viable alternative to stainless steel. The implication is that
high titer processes require smaller bioreactor volumes and the increasing disposable bioreactor size will make it easier
for smaller companies to invest in small-scale manufacturing capacity. However, higher titers require higher cell densities
which, coupled with larger volumes, will place greater demands on the bioreactor performance. Companies considering scale-up
of processes have to consider the greater demands of high cell densities, and decide what to do if product success requires
that they move the process to large-scale stainless-steel bioreactors. One company we work with is moving from the rocking
bag bioreactor configuration to the stirred-tank disposable configuration for these reasons.
THE NEXT GENERATION
The move to disposable bioreactors is driven by reduction in clean-in-place and steam-in-place requirements, reduced contamination,
improved flexibility, reduced costs, and faster implementation. Our economic models show that between 30–50% of the cost of
goods is associated with upstream bioreactors, and disposable bioreactors can simplify the whole operation by, for example,
reducing piping services. The other big benefit is that the suppliers will provide a new bioreactor from order to operation,
in as short as 12 weeks, compared to 1–1.5 years for a stainless-steel unit. A new generation of larger-scale stirred disposable
bioreactors has appeared in commercial manufacture over the last three years. This trend is led by Thermo Fisher's single-use
bioreactor (SUB), available in sizes up to 1,000 L, followed by Xcellerex's single-use XDR bioreactor, available in sizes
up to 2,000 L. The market leader seems to be the SUB, and Thermo Fisher reports that it has sold over 100 of the 50- and 250-L
hardware units since their launch in April 2006. Many of these have started to appear in good manufacturing practice (GMP)
manufacturing facilities as production bioreactors. Several SUB users have compared it favorably to stainless-steel systems:
presentations from Centocor, Baxter, DSM, and Merck are in the public domain. Jon Reid, Thermo Fisher's global director of
BPC Marketing, expects the market for disposable bioreactors to grow in excess of 20% per annum for at least the next three
years.
Currently, Wave dominates the the market in R&D and small-scale manufacturing. For large-scale GMP manufacturing, the SUB
appears to be the market leader, followed by the XDR. There are also several new entrants, such as the consortium of Pierre
Guerin with ATMI and Artelis, who have launched the Nucleo range bioreactor. Sartorius Stedim Biotech is also believed to
be developing a disposable bioreactor.
