News:

04.01.2008

Kühner AG has launched the  Kuhner Science Forum.

Press Release:

27.06.2007

Novel 1000 liter bioreactor design: Manufacture of recombinant proteins in orbitally shaken bioreactor systems at a fraction of the cost of stirred tank bioreactors

ExcellGene SA and Kühner AG have shown for the first time the successful operation of an orbitally shaken bioreactor at the 1000 liter scale (working volume) using CHO cells producing a recombinant antibody.  Orbital shaking efficiently mixes suspension cultures while oxygenating cells through gas exchange with the headspace.  Disposable elements and smart design principles allow the manufacture and operation of these orbitally shaking bioreactors at a fraction of the cost of stirred tank bioreactors. Energy consumption for maintaining a homogenously mixed environment while also transferring gases in and out the reactor is less than 100 watts.  Installation costs are estimated to be 10% or less of those associated with stainless steel stirred tank units.

Data published at the ESACT 2007 conference in Dresden shows that orbital shaking provides oxygen to cells more efficiently than any other bioreactor system. Smaller scale systems, routinely in use at ExcellGene for years, have shown that growth and productivity from disposable orbitally shaking reactors are equivalent and frequently better than those of fully instrumented glass or stainless steel stirred tank bioreactors.

The first 1000 liter disposable bioreactors will be commercially available by the beginning of 2009.

02.05.2007

A new landmark on bioreactor design: Disposable, orbitally shaken bioreactor exceeds performance of classical bioreactor

For the first time, ExcellGene proves that it can deliver better performance of cells in terms of productivity and growth of CHO cells in a disposable, novel design bioreactor than in a classical stirred bioreactor. A partnership of ExcellGene with Kühner AG, the leading company in shaker technology was formed several years ago in order to develop a novel bioreactor principle that proves to be simpler and more efficient than classical bioreactors, yet exceeds the latter in performance. The two companies disclose today the successful conclusion of the technically challenging task of growing Chinese Hamster Ovary cells in an orbitally shaken bioreactor system at the 100 Liter scale.  The cylindrical bioreactors, ranging in scale of operation from 1 Liter to 100 Liter (volume of cell culture) are mounted on a circular moving platform. The mechanism of orbital shaking allows for efficient mixing of suspension cultures, while oxygenating cells through the head-space. At the largest scale, so far 100 Liter, the cylindrical vessel contains a disposable, sterile bag with appropriate connection tubes for seeding, feeding, gas supply and harvesting of the culture. Compared to classical stirred tank bioreactors, orbitally shaken bioreactors are much simpler and less costly to operate.

The principles of orbital shaking technology has been object of supporting research and development at the two companies, as well as in the laboratory of Professor Wurm at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. Data obtained have shown that oxygen, the most important nutrient in animal cell culture, can be transferred to cells more efficiently than in any other bioreactor system used for animal cells so far. Cell culture data obtained have shown that growth and productivity from these reactors, now shown up to a scale of 100 Liters, are equivalent and frequently better than those of fully instrumented non-disposable, glass or stainless steel stirred bioreactors.

“The top-class technical and developmental expertise of Kühner AG in shaking technology was providing the necessary hardware knowledge necessary to tackle the challenging task of creating a revolutionary scale-up bioreactor system, that will provide products up to the multi-thousand liter scale from mammalian cells such as CHO, NS0 and PerC6. “Cell culture technology has to be liberated from pre-formed thinking and unjustified mental barriers. It is possible now to provide more cost-effective and simpler procedures to cultivate cells in reactors with the ultimate goal to produce recombinant proteins much faster and at lower cost.” explains Dr. Wurm, Chief Scientific officer and Founder of ExcellGene. Markus Kühner, CEO of Kühner AG comments: “Shaking Technology was widely accepted for microbial cultures, but our collaboration with Dr. Wurm and his team, most notably the development of ExcellGene’s TubeSpin®-bioreactor system at the small scale (50 ml) has opened our markets for incubator-shakers dramatically. We are now looking forward to a new system for growing and using mammalian cells in scale and in technology, unthinkable just a few years ago.”

The market introduction of the first 100 Liter bioreactor is expected in October 2008.