DipImpact

The production of biopharmaceutical proteins (such as monoclonal antibodies, mAB) is dominated by Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. In addition to strain engineering, process engineering, including medium optimization, is crucial for successful process development. Surprisingly,  media optimization often follows heuristic approaches and as such may not completely unravel hidden potentials.

DipImpact focuses on the identification and the use of new, promising medium additives such as di-peptides and derivatives. Systems biology studies will be performed at the Institute of Biochemical Engineering (IBVT). The industrial partner Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH (Darmstadt) will offer novel additives. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co KG (Biberach) will test compounds in production scale. Additional studies on medium optimization and formulation will be performed by the company Xell AG (Bielefeld). As such, DipImpact interlinks all elements of the value chain to enable a knowledge-driven process optimization using systems biology as the key.  

1. Prof. R. Takors, University of Stuttgart
2. Dr. A. Karau, Evonik Nutrition and Care GmbH
3. Dr. B. Greulich, Boehringer Ingelheim
4. C. Heinrich, Xell AG