Reduce water and energy consumption in downstream bioprocesses

The manufacturing of the drug substance of biologics such as monoclonal antibodies is usually divided in an upstream section containing in most part the cell culture and the protein synthesis, and a downstream part for the purification and polishing to remove any impurities and obtaining the antibody in a very high purity. The main method of purification and polishing is chromatography which often requires large quantities of aqueous buffer solutions to equilibrate the resins, elute the product, and wash the columns. By regulatory requirements, for the safety of patients, only water of the highest quality must be used in the production of biologics. This water grade is called “water for injection” (WFI) and requires a highly energy intensive process including distillation, reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration.

Thus, the production of tens of thousands of liters of buffer solution for a large 12,000 L scale consumes not only large amounts of WFI, but also large amounts of energy, which may come from fossil fuels such as natural gas, significantly increasing the CO₂ footprint of the product. Reducing these consumptions would therefore reduce the environmental footprint of the process. 

The challenge has been released as part of the Boehringer Ingelheim’s Innovation Unit (IU) More Green Grants program, whose intent is to minimize the environmental footprint of future medicines through sustainable science, technology, and innovation.  Founded in 1885 and family-owned ever since, Boehringer Ingelheim takes a long-term perspective. Its commitment to contribute towards a healthier and more sustainable future is firmly anchored in our corporate philosophy since its founding.

Hence our question: How would you propose to reduce water and/or energy consumption in future downstream bioprocesses?

The main goal is to develop approaches that are implementable in large scale downstream manufacturing that reduce water and/or energy consumption. Possible approaches for smart manufacturing may utilize advanced process modeling or apply digital twins to minimize buffer volumes, as well as new technologies to maximize process throughput and decrease buffer consumption, e.g., by increasing chromatography column and/or filtration membrane loadings. Furthermore, the project should deliver tangible results within 12 months.

Technologies that are not feasible and/or implementable for large scale manufacturing.

If your project is selected, you will have the opportunity to directly collaborate with the IU Sustainability team of Boehringer Ingelheim, and you gain exclusive access to company expertise and know-how.

You can expect appropriate funding for the intended 12-month collaboration period. Your exact funding request should be outlined in your proposal. As a framework, we suggest that your initial funding request is structured by milestones and does not exceed USD 80,000.

To maintain the highest degree of an open innovation environment, we plan to announce the winner(s) publicly and feature them on opnMe.com and our social media channels.

We are seeking research collaboration proposals that contain:

• A well-structured proposal outlining a new and compelling sustainable scientific approach.
• Outlining of the technical feasibility, and potentially existing data or previous publications that support feasibility / experience with outlined technology, based on existing techniques and established assays.
• Your exact funding request should be outlined in your proposal based on a well-thought-through project. The project should be structured in milestones and planned with key decision points (clear Go/No-Go criteria).  The funding request should not exceed USD 80,000.
• We will only consider project proposals which can be completed within 12 months or less. Within this period, you should be able to generate confirmation about your hypothesis based on predefined experimental milestones, as well as publishable results.
• Proven track record in the required field of expertise.
• Ability to implement the outlined solution as part of a scientific collaboration project with Boehringer Ingelheim including access to a laboratory.

Please use our answer submission template to provide a 2-3 page non-confidential proposal (available for download here).

If confidential data exists that would strengthen the proposal, please indicate that information is available to share under a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA). If we find the non-confidential concept proposal sufficiently interesting, we will execute a CDA for confidential discussions.

We are currently seeking answers for the following scientific challenge: Leveraging novel technological approaches in downstream processing of biologicals, how would you propose to reduce water and/or energy consumption in future bioprocesses?

All incoming answers accompanied by a collaboration proposal will be evaluated by a scientific jury, and, upon selection, chosen proposals are pursued through a joint collaboration with the successful applicants. Initial funding of up to USD 80,000 will be available for each selected proposal.

We can only accept research proposals if they arrive by the submission deadline on February 15, 2023, 11.59 pm PST.