HYBRID ASEPTIC CONNECTION SYSTEM AND ASEPTIC CONNECTION METHOD FOR ANTIBODY PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Abstract

The present invention relates to a hybrid aseptic connection system and aseptic connection method for manufacturing an antibody pharmaceutical. In a hybrid system employing a medium storage tank made of a SS material and a bioreactor made of an SU disposable tube, to ensure a completely aseptic connection between the medium storage tank and the bioreactor, the completely aseptic connection between the medium storage tank and the bioreactor may be made by interconnection of the SU disposable tube through a welding process and the advantages of both the SS system and the SU system may be obtained at the same time. As a discharge line, an SU disposable tube and a steam trap tube are formed in a “Y” shape, the flowability in a medium transfer line may be improved and thus it is possible to prevent impurities such as a condensate from remaining in the medium transfer line.

Claims

1. A hybrid aseptic connection system for a process of manufacturing an antibody pharmaceutical, comprising: a medium storage tank made of a stainless steel material, which stores a medium received from a media preparation tank; a bioreactor made of a single-use (SU) disposable bag, which includes a stirring device, receives the medium from the medium storage tank and increases the number of cells through cell division; and a medium transfer line configured to introduce a medium stream discharged from the medium storage tank to the bioreactor, wherein the medium transfer line includes a fastening part formed at the end of a discharge line provided at one end of the medium storage tank; an SU disposable tube connected with the discharge line using the fastening part at one end and connected with the bioreactor at the other end; and a vent filter provided on the tube to prevent the expansion and contraction of the tube by a steam sterilization process.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the discharge line and the SU disposable tube are connected with each other while being inclined at predetermined angles, respectively.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein a steam trap tube is branched from the fastening part and includes a pinch clamp.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the discharge line, the SU disposable tube and the steam trap tube are formed in an “Y” shape.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the SU disposable tube is formed by welding a tube pre-connected with the fastening part and a tube included in the bioreactor.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the aseptic connection system is applied to provide a medium for a process of manufacturing one or more antibody pharmaceuticals selected from the group consisting of abagovomab, abciximab, adalimumab, adecatumumab, alemtuzumab, altumomab, altumomab pentetate, anatumomab, anatumomab mafenatox, arcitumomab, atlizumab, basiliximab, bectumomab, ectumomab, belimumab, benralizumab, bevacizumab, brentuximab, canakinumab, capromab, capromab pendetide, catumaxomab, certolizumab, clivatuzumab tetraxetan, daclizumab, denosumab, eculizumab, edrecolomab, efalizumab, etaracizumab, ertumaxomab, fanolesomab, fontolizumab, gemtuzumab, girentuximab, golimumab, ibritumomab, igovomab, infliximab, ipilimumab, labetuzumab, mepolizumab, muromonab, muromonab-CD3, natalizumab, necitumumab, nimotuzumab, ofatumumab, omalizumab, oregovomab, palivizumab, panitumumab, ranibizumab, rituximab, satumomab, sulesomab, ibritumomab, ibritumomab tiuxetan, tocilizumab, tositumomab, trastuzumab, ustekinumab, visilizumab, votumumab, zalutumumab, brodalumab, anrukinzumab, bapineuzumab, dalotuzumab, demcizumab, ganitumab, inotuzumab, mavrilimumab, moxetumomab pasudotox, rilotumumab, sifalimumab, tanezumab, tralokinumab, tremelimumab, urelumab, adornase alfa, Rebif, becaplermin, alteplase, laronidase, alefacept, aflibercept, raxibacumab, darbepoetin alfa, becaplermin concentrate, interferon beta-1b, botulinum toxin type A, rasburicase, asparaginase, epoetin alfa, etanercept, agalsidase beta, interferon alfacon-1, interferon alfa-2a, anakinra, botulinum toxin type B, pegfilgrastim, oprelvekin, filgrastim, denileukin diftitox, peginterferon alfa-2a, aldesleukin, dornase alfa, interferon beta-1a, becaplermin, reteplase, interferon alfa-2, tenecteplase, drotrecogin alfa, rilonacept, romiplostim, methoxypolyethylene glycol-epoetin beta, a C1 esterase inhibitor, idursulfase, alglucosidase alfa, abatacept, galsulfase, palifermin and interferon gamma-1b.

7. An aseptic connection method in the hybrid system for a process of manufacturing an antibody pharmaceutical of claim 1, comprising: (a) after transferring a medium from a medium storage tank to a bioreactor, removing an SU disposable tube that has been used; (b) connecting a new disposable tube to a fastening part first, cleaning the medium storage tank, the discharge line and the disposable tube in place, drying the resulting product using clean and oil-free air (COA), and then sterilizing the dried product with high-temperature steam; and (c) aseptically connecting, after the sterilization, the disposable tube with a tube included in a newly-prepared bioreactor made of a single-use (SU) disposable bag through a welding process.

8. An aseptic connection method in the hybrid system for a process of manufacturing an antibody pharmaceutical of claim 1, comprising: (a) after transferring a medium from a medium storage tank to a bioreactor, removing an SU disposable tube that has been used; (b) preparing a new disposable tube having a diaphragm valve at one end and a vent filter at the other end, cleaning the tube in place, drying it using clean and oil-free air (COA) and then sterilizing it with high temperature steam; and (c) connecting, after the sterilization, the end at which the diaphragm valve of the disposable tube is placed with a discharge line of a medium storage tank via a fastening part, and aseptically connecting the end at which the vent filter is included with a tube included in a newly prepared bioreactor made of an SU disposable bag through a welding process.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] FIG. 1 schematically shows an aseptic connection system in which a connection securing complete sterility between a medium storage tank made of an SS material and a bioreactor made of an SU disposable bag through a welding process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a fastening part of an aseptic connection system according to one embodiment of the present invention in detail.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of a diaphragm valve in a fastening part of an aseptic connection system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

MODES OF THE INVENTION

[0026] The terms used in the specification are used only to describe specific examples, not to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless clearly indicated otherwise in the context. It should be understood that the term “comprise,” “include,” or “have” used herein is for indicating the presence of implemented characteristics, numbers, steps, elements or a combination thereof, and does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other characteristics, numbers, steps, elements or a combination thereof.

[0027] In addition, in the present invention, when a layer or element is referred to as being formed “on” or “over” each layer or element, it is meant that each layer or element is formed directly on each layer or element, or another layer or element is formed on each layer, or that another layer or element may additionally be formed between layers, on an object, or a substrate.

[0028] The present invention may have various modifications and various examples, and thus specific examples are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to specific embodiments, and includes all modifications, equivalents or alternatives within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

[0029] Hereinafter, a hybrid aseptic connection system and aseptic connection method for a process of manufacturing an antibody pharmaceutical according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in further detail.

[0030] Hybrid Aseptic Connection System for Process of Manufacturing Antibody Pharmaceutical

[0031] A hybrid aseptic connection system for a process of manufacturing an antibody pharmaceutical according to one embodiment of the present invention may include a medium storage tank made of a stainless steel material, which stores a medium received from a media preparation tank; a bioreactor made of a single-use (SU) disposable bag, which includes a stirring device, receives the medium from the medium storage tank and increases the number of cells through cell division; and a medium transfer line configured to introduce a medium stream discharged from the medium storage tank to the bioreactor, wherein the medium transfer line includes a fastening part formed at the end of a discharge line provided at one end of the medium storage tank; an SU disposable tube connected with the discharge line using the fastening part at one end and connected with the bioreactor at the other end; and a vent filter provided on the tube to prevent the expansion and contraction of the tube by a steam sterilization process.

[0032] In further detail, the process of manufacturing an antibody pharmaceutical consists of initial candidate material and cell line development, a culture process (upstream processing (USP)), a purification process (downstream processing (DSP)), and a fill and finish process.

[0033] Among these processes, the culture process (USP) corresponds to the process of continuously increasing the number of cells through cell division for approximately 6 weeks from the initial flask stage of less than 1 liter to the final production bioreactor stage of 15,000 L or more, after thawing the cell line.

[0034] The cultivation unit according to the present invention is a set of components for the culture process (USP), which may include a medium preparation tank for preparing a medium in advance, a medium storage tank for receiving the media from the medium preparation tank and storing the medium, a feed line through which a feed stream including thawed cells and a culture medium is introduced to a bioreactor, one or more bioreactors including a stirring system, which receive the thawed cells and the medium from the feed stream and increase the number of cells through cell division, and a discharge line which discharges the medium containing the cells cultured in the bioreactor as an effluent stream.

[0035] Meanwhile, the components and systems used in the USP and DSP are divided into stainless steel (SS) and single-use (SU) using disposable bags or tubes in terms of material, and among these, although the SS process system including device components made of SS has advantages of easy implementation on a relatively large scale, low operation cost and easy automation, the initial installation cost is high, it is vulnerable to contamination and prone to the downstream bottleneck phenomenon occurring in the DSP, caused by the implementation of a large-sized bioreactor.

[0036] The SU process system, which has recently been introduced, uses disposable bags or tubes with a volume of 0.1 to 2,000 L as device components, and compared to the SS process system, has advantages of relatively low cost for initial installation and being relatively resistant to contamination because a corresponding part can be replaced upon contamination. However, scale-up limitations, continuous operation costs caused by frequent bag replacement and the input of a lot of labor during equipment replacement are pointed out as disadvantages.

[0037] The present inventors confirmed that, to obtain the advantages of both the SS system and the SU system, in a culture process (USP), in the hybrid system in which the medium storage tank providing a medium is formed of a stainless steel (SS) material and the bioreactor receiving the medium is formed of a single-use (SU) disposable bag, in order to secure a completely aseptic connection between the medium storage tank and the bioreactor, by interconnection of the SU disposable tube through a welding process, the completely aseptic connection between the medium storage tank and the bioreactor may be secured and the advantages of the SS system and the SU system may be obtained at the same time, and as the medium transfer line includes a discharge line, a fastening part, an SU disposable tube, a vent filter and a steam trap tube, which are formed in a “Y” shape, impurities such as condensate may be prevented from remaining in the medium transfer line and thus medium contamination is prevented in advance. Thus, the present invention was completed.

[0038] Specifically, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the medium transfer line may include a fastening part formed at the end of a discharge line provided at one end of the medium storage tank; an SU disposable tube connected with the discharge line using the fastening part at one end and connected with the bioreactor at the other end; and a vent filter provided on the tube to prevent the expansion and contraction of the tube by a steam sterilization process, wherein the discharge line and the SU disposable tube are connected with each other while being inclined at predetermined angles, respectively.

[0039] In one example, each of the discharge line and the SU disposable tube is included to form an acute angle based on the ground and may be connected to each other in a “V” shape through the fastening part.

[0040] Meanwhile, the hybrid aseptic connection system according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a steam trap tube branched from the fastening part and including a pinch clamp, and here, the discharge line, SU disposable tube and steam trap tube may be formed in a “Y” shape.

[0041] Meanwhile, the fastening part may be included to effectively connect the discharge line made of a stainless steel material and an SU disposable tube, and may include, if needed, one or more components selected from a flange, tri-clamp, a cap and diaphragm valves. Among these, the flange may be a component that controls opening/closing through rotation, the tri-clamp is a component for fastening, the cap is a component for hermetically sealing a tube, and the diaphragm valve is a component included to control line opening/closing and a flow rate (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

[0042] Meanwhile, the vent filter is a component for preventing the expansion and contraction of a tube by a steam sterilization process, and may be, for example, a capsule vent filter having a pore size of 0.2 μm. The steam trap tube may be included to easily discharge steam condensate, and the pinch clamp may be removed after sterilization.

[0043] In further detail, the discharge line and the SU disposable tube are inclined to form an acute angle based on the ground, and are connected to each other in a “V” shape through the fastening part, and moreover, when a steam trap tube branched from the fastening part and including a pinch clamp is further included, the discharge line and the SU disposable tube are formed in a “Y” shape.

[0044] As described above, when the discharge line and the SU disposable tube are inclined to form an acute angle based on the ground, due to sliding caused by gravity and the predetermined angle, the fluid flowability in the medium transfer line is improved compared to the conventional T-shaped general configuration, thereby preventing impurities such as a condensate from remaining in the medium transfer line that includes the discharge line and/or the SU disposable tube, so medium contamination is prevented in advance.

[0045] Meanwhile, the SU disposable tube according to one embodiment of the present invention may be formed by connecting a tube previously connected with the fastening part with a tube included in the bioreactor through a welding process.

[0046] For example, when both of the medium storage tank and the bioreactor are SS process systems formed of an SS material, although there is no complicated piping, they are vulnerable to contamination and have poor process flexibility, and when both of the medium storage tank and the bioreactor are SU process systems formed of an SU material, although they are resistant to contamination, complicated piping and scale-up are difficult and there is a high operation cost.

[0047] On the other hand, in the case of the hybrid system employing the medium storage tank made of an SS material and the bioreactor made of an SU disposable bag according to one embodiment of the present invention, although the aforementioned advantages of the SS process system and the SU process system may be obtained at the same time, in the process of replacing the bioreactor made of the SU disposable bag, there is a problem in that a line opening inevitably occurs.

[0048] On the other hand, according to the present invention, in the process of replacing the bioreactor made of the SU disposable bag, following the sterilization process, joining between the SU disposable tubes is made through a welding process, so joining with completely ensured sterility is possible and thus medium contamination caused by a line opening can be perfectly prevented.

[0049] Meanwhile, the welding process may be performed using a welder, and may be performed with a general method and conditions used in the art, but the present invention is not particularly limited thereto.

[0050] Meanwhile, the aseptic connection system according to one embodiment of the present invention may be applied to provide a medium for a process of manufacturing one or more antibody pharmaceuticals selected from the group consisting of abagovomab, abciximab, adalimumab, adecatumumab, alemtuzumab, altumomab, altumomab pentetate, anatumomab, anatumomab mafenatox, arcitumomab, atlizumab, basiliximab, bectumomab, ectumomab, belimumab, benralizumab, bevacizumab, brentuximab, canakinumab, capromab, capromab pendetide, catumaxomab, certolizumab, clivatuzumab tetraxetan, daclizumab, denosumab, eculizumab, edrecolomab, efalizumab, etaracizumab, ertumaxomab, fanolesomab, fontolizumab, gemtuzumab, girentuximab, golimumab, ibritumomab, igovomab, infliximab, ipilimumab, labetuzumab, mepolizumab, muromonab, muromonab-CD3, natalizumab, necitumumab, nimotuzumab, ofatumumab, omalizumab, oregovomab, palivizumab, panitumumab, ranibizumab, rituximab, satumomab, sulesomab, ibritumomab, ibritumomab tiuxetan, tocilizumab, tositumomab, trastuzumab, ustekinumab, visilizumab, votumumab, zalutumumab, brodalumab, anrukinzumab, bapineuzumab, dalotuzumab, demcizumab, ganitumab, inotuzumab, mavrilimumab, moxetumomab pasudotox, rilotumumab, sifalimumab, tanezumab, tralokinumab, tremelimumab, urelumab, adornase alfa, Rebif, becaplermin, alteplase, laronidase, alefacept, aflibercept, raxibacumab, darbepoetin alfa, becaplermin concentrate, interferon beta-1b, botulinum toxin type A, rasburicase, asparaginase, epoetin alfa, etanercept, agalsidase beta, interferon alfacon-1, interferon alfa-2a, anakinra, botulinum toxin type B, pegfilgrastim, oprelvekin, filgrastim, denileukin diftitox, peginterferon alfa-2a, aldesleukin, dornase alfa, interferon beta-1a, becaplermin, reteplase, interferon alfa-2, tenecteplase, drotrecogin alfa, rilonacept, romiplostim, methoxypolyethylene glycol-epoetin beta, a C1 esterase inhibitor, idursulfase, alglucosidase alfa, abatacept, galsulfase, palifermin and interferon gamma-1b, and it can be variously used throughout a process of manufacturing antibody pharmaceuticals, such as biopharmaceuticals, improved biopharmaceuticals (biobetters) and biosimilars.

[0051] Aseptic Connection Method in Hybrid System for Process of Manufacturing Antibody Pharmaceutical

[0052] Meanwhile, according to one embodiment of the present invention, an aseptic connection method in the system may include (a) after transferring a medium from a medium storage tank to a bioreactor, removing an SU disposable tube that has been used; (b) connecting a new disposable tube to a fastening part first, cleaning the medium storage tank, the discharge line and the disposable tube in place, drying the resulting product using clean and oil-free air (COA), and then sterilizing the dried product with high-temperature steam; and (c) aseptically connecting, after the sterilization, the disposable tube with a tube included in a newly-prepared bioreactor made of a single-use (SU) disposable bag through a welding process.

[0053] In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, an aseptic connection method in the system may include (a) after transferring a medium from a medium storage tank to a bioreactor, removing an SU disposable tube that has been used; (b) preparing a new disposable tube having a diaphragm valve at one end and a vent filter at the other end, cleaning the tube in place, drying it using clean and oil-free air (COA) and then sterilizing it with high temperature steam; and (c) connecting, after the sterilization, the end at which the diaphragm valve of the disposable tube is placed with a discharge line of a medium storage tank via a fastening part, and aseptically connecting the end at which the vent filter is included with a tube included in a newly prepared bioreactor made of an SU disposable bag through a welding process.

[0054] Meanwhile, for connection with completely secured sterility, in (c), sterilizing the fastening part after connecting an end of the region where the diaphragm valve is placed with the discharge line of the medium storage tank via the fastening part may be further included.

[0055] According to the aseptic connection system and aseptic connection method of the present invention as described above, in the hybrid system employing the medium storage tank made of an SS material and the bioreactor made of the SU disposable bag, by interconnection of the SU disposable tube through a welding process, a completely aseptic connection between the medium storage tank and the bioreactor may be secured, and the advantages of both the SS system and the SU system may be obtained at the same time.

[0056] In addition, in the aseptic connection system according to the present invention, by forming the discharge line, the SU disposable tube and the steam trap tube in a “Y” shape, the flowability in a medium transfer line can be improved, thereby preventing impurities such as a condensate from remaining in the medium transfer line and thus preventing medium contamination in advance.

[0057] Further, the aseptic connection system and aseptic connection method according to the present invention may exclude complicated piping caused by the single use of a conventional SU system, and due to the advantages of resistance to contamination compared to the single use of a conventional SS system, may secure the economic feasibility and efficiency of the process.

[0058] In the above, the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art or those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention can be variously modified and changed without departing the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, such modifications or variations should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or point of view of the present invention, and the modified embodiments should belong to the claims of the present invention.