Single‐use centrifugal separator enables intensification of the clarification process in biomanufacturing of recombinant proteins

Abstract BACKGROUND The need to produce more biologics at lower costs and hence intensify bioprocessing has significantly improved upstream productivity (cell culture titers ≥3 g L −1 and cell densities ≥20 × 10 6 cells mL −1 ), shifting the economic and production bottleneck to downstream manufacturing. The first downstream unit operation is the clarification of the cell culture broth to remove various insoluble (such as cells and cell debris) and soluble (such as host cell DNA and proteins) contaminants, producing a feed stream suitable for further downstream purification. The high cell‐density cultures obtained in modern intensified bioprocessing have made legacy single‐use clarification trains (based primarily on depth filtration of the cell culture broth) ineffective and impractical, significantly increasing the economic and material burden of the clarification process. RESULTS We have developed and characterized approaches that enable intensification of the clarification operation, by increasing process capacities while reducing material requirements and footprint, for single‐use manufacturing facilities. These approaches are based on primary clarification using the Alfa Laval CultureOne™ centrifuge (a continuous solid discharge disc‐stack centrifuge with a single‐use flow path) followed by secondary clarification using single‐use disposable depth filters. We show that these intensified clarification trains are suitable for processing high cell‐density cultures (6–12% packed cell volume) with significantly high yields (≥90%) and impurity clearance, along with reduced operating costs (30–60% savings). CONCLUSION Incorporating a single‐use continuous discharge centrifuge into the clarification train enables clarification of high cell‐density cultures in single‐use manufacturing facilities and enhances process economic and environmental sustainability. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).