Metabolic Flux Analysis (MFA) is a powerful technique used to characterize metabolic phenotype driving to improved productivity in biomanufacturing. MFA is most powerful when absolute concentrations of the metabolic intermediates are measured, but doing so in practice is often impractical due to inherent limitations of conventional absolute quantitation by mass spectral analysis. Recently, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have been applied to solving the problem of broad, untargeted, absolute quantitation in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). These new approaches extend readily to the determination of absolute concentrations of stable isotopically-labeled metabolic intermediates, offering a new tool for MFA. Dr Sam Yenne from Metalytics Inc., a company that specializes in the science of metabolic flux, has recently assessed and adopted Pyxis, a new tool for absolute quantitation of raw LC-MS data. Dr Yenne describes MFA, its utility in biopharmaceutical development, associated challenges and how Pyxis impacts those challenges.
Rohit Tripathi, vice president of industry strategy, consumer packaged goods, and manufacturing at RELEX Solutions, explains where cold-chain planning still breaks down and why biopharma supply chain leaders should use AI to act on data sooner, with humans making the final call.
The FDA grants accelerated approval to Ultomiris for IgA nephropathy, Alcon acquires Neurotech and its MacTel cell therapy for $550 million, and BioNTech and Bristol Myers Squibb add Trodelvy to a phase 3 trial in triple-negative breast cancer.
BioNTech and Bristol Myers Squibb will replace chemotherapy with Gilead’s TROP2-directed ADC sacituzumab govitecan in the Phase 3 ROSETTA Breast-01 trial of PD-L1×VEGF-A bispecific pumitamig in PD-L1-low or -negative TNBC.
Alexion’s ravulizumab won accelerated approval to reduce proteinuria in adults with IgA nephropathy after the Phase 3 I CAN trial showed a 43.4% placebo-adjusted reduction at Week 34.
Sanofi breaks ground on an EU-backed insulin API plant in Frankfurt, Summit and ECOG-ACRIN launch a phase 2/3 trial of ivonescimab in first-line biliary tract cancer, and TaiMed’s anti-CD4 antibody TMB-365 lowers HIV viral load in phase 1.
Rohit Tripathi, vice president of industry strategy, consumer packaged goods, and manufacturing at RELEX Solutions, explains what is driving biopharma reshoring, how USMCA uncertainty complicates sourcing for biologics, and where cold-chain visibility still breaks down.
