Polymers for Binding-Triggered Antibody Precipitation and Purification

Value Proposition

• Results in >97% precipitation yield, >88% elution yield of mAbs
• Simplified molecular design compared to elastin-like polypeptide (ELP)-based materials
• Does not need additional salt to achieve mAb precipitation and recovery

Technology Description

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a peptide-based platform technology using supramolecular immunofibers (IFs) for non-chromatographic antibody purification. The platform employs co-assembly of filler and ligand molecules. In aqueous solutions, the filler and ligand molecules can spontaneously co-assemble into IFs under physiological conditions and then capture and precipitate monoclonal antibodies (mAbs).

Unmet Need

Antibody precipitation using protein A chromatography is one of the major downstream bottlenecks due to resin capacity limitation and high production cost. Affinity precipitation has been increasingly explored as a promising alternative to purify mAbs. However, high salt concentration is known to increase the risks of protein instability and non-specific precipitation of impurities present in the solution. Therefore, there is a need for an alternative mAb purification process of with high throughput, ease of handling, and reduced cost.

Stage of Development

• In vitro studies have been completed and demonstrate high precipitation yields and elution yields of mAbs for high titers
• Current work is evaluating process scalability, robustness, and process cost, time, and efficiency.

Data Availability

Data available upon request.