Sartorius Stedim Biotech Supports ABL Europe in Viral Vector GMP Capacity Expansion

ABL Europe has successfully increased and brought online new viral vector manufacturing capacity at its European facility in Strasbourg. A subsidiary of ABL Inc., ABL Europe has selected Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB) as its primary supplier of single-use systems. ABL Europe provides dedicated viral vector GMP manufacturing services for oncolytic, vaccine and gene therapy projects in all stages of clinical development through to commercial launch.

Sartorius Stedim Biotech has delivered a comprehensive GMP viral vector manufacturing package solution that includes single-use bioreactors and an automation platform for normal flow filtration, tangential filtration and mixing. These have been installed at the facility, which is now in the process of manufacturing batches of viral vector products for ABL’s clients. Sartorius Stedim Biotech’s end-to-end process solutions in single-use (SU) format have helped ABL expand its existing drug substance capacity, with a fully disposable manufacturing capability for different viral vector product types produced in non-adherent cell lines.

Amélie Boulais Raveneau, Vaccine Platform Marketing Manager at SSB, commented: “We’re very proud to have been selected by ABL Europe to supply single-use process technologies and analytics specifically designed for use throughout ABL’s viral vector manufacturing process train. It is a significant endorsement of SSB’s platform for viral vector processing and the single-use design capabilities of the Sartorius Integrated Solutions engineering team. Our process development consultants share their expertise with clients to ensure optimal implementation of our technologies and overcome challenges in viral vector applications.”

Patrick Mahieux, General Manager of ABL Europe, has considerable experience in virus manufacturing including senior positions at Sanofi, Guerbet and Transgene. He said, “The introduction of non-adherent cell culture capacity complements our existing adherent cell culture viral vector production technologies. It is the only pure-play, dedicated viral vector production site capable of manufacturing drug substance and drug product materials for toxicological studies, all clinical phases and even commercial launch. Everything from process development, manufacturing and QC release testing is performed under one roof.”