💡 These viruses target cancer cells effectively but face manufacturing challenges.
🔬 Collaborating with the Technical University of Munich, they improved production processes using citrate buffers.
💪 The team aims for GMP-grade manufacturing and has published their findings in a scientific journal.
Introduction:
The article discusses a pioneering advancement by Portuguese researchers at the Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica (iBET) in developing a streamlined production method for a new class of oncolytic viruses. This research addresses manufacturing challenges associated with these promising anti-cancer therapeutics.
- The iBET team has devised a downstream processing technique aimed at improving the production of oncolytic viruses, known for their ability to replicate rapidly and target cancerous tumors efficiently.
- Manufacturing oncolytic viruses presents unique challenges due to their distinct shapes and enveloped structures, limiting the number of available products in the market.
- Collaboration with Jennifer Altomonte from the Technical University of Munich led to an end-to-end optimization of both upstream and downstream processes for producing the recombinant fusogenic oncolytic virus VSV-NDV.
- Optimization efforts included experimenting with ionic salts and chromatography impurities, which notably involved the use of a citrate buffer to enhance purification processes.
- The team is progressing toward achieving Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards and is currently seeking funding to support large-scale manufacturing trials.
Conclusion:
This innovative approach to producing oncolytic viruses demonstrates significant potential in overcoming existing manufacturing obstacles in the field of cancer therapeutics. The advancements made by the iBET team not only enhance production efficiency but also pave the way for future studies and applications, with important implications for developing effective anti-cancer treatments.
