The 14th Conference on Protein Expression in Animal Cells (14th PEACe) will be held from September 22-26, 2019 in Newport, Rhode Island, USA
The goal of the 14th PEACe Conference is to continue the tradition of bringing together scientists from academia and industry to share knowledge in the field of recombinant protein expression.
1. Latest developments in protein engineering, expression, secretion, post-translational modifications and production in alternative animal cellular systems, including highlights on cell engineering and large-scale protein production and bioprocessing
2. Informal discussions and networking with delegates from both academia and industry
3. Updates on reagents and equipment presented by vendors through workshops and exhibition
Monitoring and Control of Protein Quality Chair: Manon Cox – co-chair TBD
Recombinant proteins produced from animal cell culture are characterized by their high degree of complexity and the selected expression system as well as process conditions have a significant impact on protein quality. For this session we invite presentations that cover novel approaches to evaluate the biological, chemical and physical properties of a product. In-depth bio-analytical characterization plays a critical role in establishing comparability of a product following process, scale and site changes. This session will focus on testing strategies and case studies high-lighting the pivotal role of analytical characterization in development, licensure, and post-licensure life cycle management.
Bio-Processing Chair: Zahia Hannas – co-chair TBD
Production of efficacious and safe biologicals using animal cell culture continues to pose significant challenges in upstream and downstream processing. Enormous improvements in productivity have been made over the past decade throughout the process resulting in protein yields exceeding grams per liter. This session aims to discuss the latest development in process optimization for various protein expression platforms including media optimization (towards defined media), feed-strategies, continuous processing, with an emphasis on Quality by Design. Abstracts describing recombinant protein production strategies specifically aimed to improve productivity and ease of manufacturing are welcome.
Protein Engineering Chair Carlos Bosques Co-Chair Traian Sulea
The engineering and production of proteins are crucial components of the biopharmaceutical industry. Over the last decades, innovative protein engineering have led to the development of multiple classes of therapeutic proteins including antibodies, bispecifics, fusion proteins, and many others. Protein engineering applications include both rational design and directed evolution to generate proteins with desired physicochemical or functional characteristics. This session will focus on recent progress and examples on the field of protein engineering. For example, this session will cover discussions on: novel protein design, antibody design to create novel antibodies or antibodies with optimized Fab or Fc-mediated functions, optimization of protein stability, generation of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), glycoengeeniring to optimize protein structure or function, directed protein evolution, etc.
Expression Systems Chair Yves Durocher Co-Chair René Hubert
CHO cells are the predominant host for the industrial manufacturing of recombinant protein therapeutics. However, the R&D environment often moves beyond the transient and stable mammalian expression systems to utilize a multitude of expression platforms including in-vitro translation, bacteria, plants, fungi, insect cells, and yeast. The choice of expression system selected can be influenced by the class of recombinant proteins such as multi-span membrane receptors, multi-chain bispecifics, and other “difficult-to-express” candidates. This session will cover the expanding repertoire of expression platforms used for producing recombinant proteins including the use of synthetic biology approaches and powerful gene editing technologies for tailoring host capabilities to match specific process and product quality attributes important for biological functions. Relevant topics will include innovative CHO modalities (transient, stable, inducible, transposases, random and targeted plasmid integration) and other mammalian and non-mammalian expression systems.
Cell Engineering Chair Mark Smales Co-Chair Peter Tessier
The production of complex biopharmaceutical proteins primarily uses mammalian cell expression systems due to the ability of these systems to produce and secrete correctly folded, functionally active recombinant proteins. Advances in synthetic biology tools for cell engineering have expedited cell line development for the production of high-quality biologics. This session will focus on new or novel methods and emerging technologies to modify or select cells to develop and establish recombinant cell lines. Topics of interest may include vector design and clone/host selection, codon optimization, synthetic biology approaches, genome engineering and editing tools, recombination mediated integration, cell redesign, non-coding RNAs, inducible systems, and cell line stability.
Expression of Alternative Biotherapeutic Modalities Chair Mark Smales Co-Chair Mike Butler
Whilst the manufacture of standard IgG monospecific antibodies has become routine in many cases, the last decade has seen the development of molecules and potential therapies with increased complexities that bring new challenges to their manufacture. This session will cover the process development and optimization for such proteins and therapies that are challenging to express. Potential modalities may include bispecific antibodies, other multi-valent antibodies, fusion proteins, blood coagulation factors, CAR-Ts, peptides, protein based vaccines, ADCs, glycoconjuagtes, exosomes, gene therapies, RNA manufacturing and other ‘non-standard’ IgG molecules. Difficult-to-express research proteins for small molecule drug development are also within the scope of this session e.g. the generation of purified transmembrane proteins like GPCRs and ion-channels for biophysical methods and structure determination.
Big Data in Cell line and Process Design and Protein Production Chair Nathan Lewis Co-Chair Claes Gustafsson
In vivo, animal cells have the capacity to produce and secrete proteins at an order of magnitude higher than seen in leading clones in industrial bioprocesses. Furthermore, each protein has its set of post-translational modifications that can be relevant to its function. Novel technologies have emerged that are elucidating the mechanisms underlying protein secretion and identifying approaches to increase cell productivity, boost protein yields in bioprocessing, and control product quality. These include high throughput screens, omics data, systems biology models and machine learning. Speakers in this session will present work on technologies enabling the development of novel strategies for enhancing and controlling protein production through the generation and analysis of biological big data.
