Abstract

Many of the biopharmaceutical therapeutics entering the market and currently in clinical trails are recombinant glycoprotein molecules, the glycan moieties of which have a significant impact on efficacy and immunogenicity. The cell culture techniques required to produce these glycoproteins often result in products that are heterogeneous with respect to glycan content. This inconsistency ultimately leads to increased production costs and restricts patient accessibility to these therapeutics. To overcome these difficulties novel analytical platforms facilitating rapid in-process monitoring and product quality control are essential. Work undertaken within the Centre for Bioanalytical Sciences (CBAS) seeks to exploit the microbial world as a source of novel biorecognition elements to produce such platforms.