Millipore Corporation and Novozymes Form Strategic Alliance to Supply Animal-Free Cell Culture Supplements for Bioprocessing

Millipore Corporation and Novozymes today announced an agreement to develop, market, and sell new, animal-free cell culture supplements for biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

The new products, to be marketed under the brand name CellPrime™, will be manufactured by Novozymes and sold through Millipore’s sales organization. The alliance expands the existing relationship between Millipore and Novozymes and will initially focus on developing recombinant human albumin and recombinant human transferrin.

Cell culture supplements help mammalian cells produce the proteins that form the basis of biologic drugs. Today, customers seeking to utilize defined, animal-free supplements in their biopharmaceutical production processes have limited options. The CellPrime™ products are designed to reduce risk and ease regulatory concerns for biopharmaceutical manufacturers. Additionally, these products will help to improve the consistency and productivity of customers’ industrial cell culture processes.

“Our expanded relationship with Novozymes broadens our commitment to develop a portfolio of high quality, animal-free alternatives that optimize productivity, address drug safety, and ease regulatory approval,” said Andrew Bulpin, Ph.D., Vice President of Millipore’s Upstream Bioprocessing Business Unit. “Our CellPrime™ products will give customers a reliable, long-term supply of regulatory compliant supplements and address their desire to eliminate the use of animal-derived products in their manufacturing processes.”

“We are excited about expanding our relationship with Millipore given the company’s leading position in serving the biopharmaceutical manufacturing market,” said Peter Rosholm, Vice President of Novozymes Biopharma “By leveraging the strengths of both companies, we will accelerate the introduction and adoption of innovative new products and enable our customers’ to re-think their production processes. This collaboration further strengthens our position as a strategic partner for biopharmaceutical companies and broadens Novozymes’ biopharmaceutical product portfolio.”

The process of manufacturing biologic drugs such as monoclonal antibodies begins with growing mammalian cells in a bioreactor. These cells are cultured in media and require the addition of supplements to enable efficient production of therapeutic proteins that form the basis of biologic drugs.

In cell culture processes, recombinant albumin serves as a carrier of essential nutrients for cell growth and supports cell viability within the bioreactor. Recombinant transferrin is highly efficient at delivering iron, an essential element for cell growth. Recombinant human albumin and transferrin will be manufactured using Novozymes’ patented microbial platforms. No human or animal-origin ingredients have been used at any stage in their development or production, including establishment of the master cell banks.