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Merck

Bioprocessing Cell Lines

A person looking into a microscope examining a sample in a clear container with a red cap through a modern black microscope. In the background, white cabinets and bottles with various colored liquids suggest an array of chemicals or reagents.

A cell line that maintains favorable growth and productivity characteristics is vital for biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes, whether you are producing monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, or viral vectors for gene therapies. Our ready-to-use cell line systems can accelerate your upstream development by greatly reducing the time, cost, and risk of developing new cell lines. Our cell lines are rationally engineered and designed for compliant biomanufacturing.   

Key features include:

  • Fully traceable cell lines with comprehensive documentation
  • cGMP banked and characterized
  • Paired, optimized, and chemically defined media and feeds
  • Comprehensive user protocols for efficient cell line development and seamless scale-up, supported by technical consultation

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A vibrant logo depicting a blue butterfly symbolizing a Rhabdovirus-free environment, with a central yellow emblem featuring a crossed-out virus particle, two vials, and the text ‘SF-RVN® PLATFORM’ below it, indicating a specialized platform for Rhabdovirus-free products.

Sf-RVN® Platform For Improving the Safety Profile of Your Bioprocesses

The majority of Spodoptera frugiperda cells (such as Sf9) contain a rhabdovirus that is considered a process contaminant and must be eliminated during the bioprocess.

Our Sf-RVN® Platform offers a rhabdovirus-free alternative for bioprocesses and enhances risk mitigation.

The Sf-RVN® Platform is a synergy between a Sf9 rhabdovirus-negative cell line with companion chemically defined medium, specifically formulated to get excellent growth and productivity of the cell line.

Combined, the Sf-RVN® Insect Cell Line with companion EX-CELL® CD Insect Cell Medium provide a high performant platform optimal to produce recombinant proteins, viral vaccines such as viral like particles (VLP) and adeno-associated vectors (AAV) for gene therapy applications.

For more information on the Sf-RVN® Insect Cell Line or to order, please click here.

A colorful graphical representation showcasing the interaction between CHOZN® GS -/- CHO Cell Line and UCOE® GS Expression Vector in gene expression. The diagram features a yellow circle labeled ‘CHOZN® GS -/- CHO Cell Line’ with surrounding spikes, and a purple oval labeled ‘UCOE® GS Expression Vector’ with internal symbols and arrows depicting the gene expression process, connected by a teal arrow indicating interaction.

CHOZN® Platform for Production of Biologics and Recombinant Proteins

Our CHOZN® platform is a Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) mammalian cell expression system that allows for faster, simpler selection and scale-up of high-producing clones for production of biologics and therapeutic recombinant proteins. It includes:

  • High-performing CHO cell lines
  • Paired media and feeds
  • Optimized expression vectors
  • Robust protocols

Three CHOZN® cell lines are available:

  • CHOZN® GS -/- cell line, enabling rapid cell line development without the need for amplification by MTX metabolic selection agent
  • CHOZN® DHFR -/- cell line, enabling rapid cell line development by amplification via MTX metabolic selection agent
  • CHOZN® CHO K1 cell line, enabling rapid cell line development with the metabolic selection agent of choice

Powered by CompoZr® Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) technology, the well-known and widely adopted CHOZN® GS-/- cell line can help shorten cell line development time lines by up to eight weeks while ensuring excellent stability, with >75% of clones maintaining >70% titer of 60 generations.

Optimized expression vectors for the CHOZN® GS -/- cell line include:

  • pCGS3.2 standard CHOZN® GS expression vector
  • UCOE® GS expression vector using the chromatin opening UCOE® expression technology
A graphical illustration depicting the process of treating a virus, starting with a pink petri dish containing yellow bacteria at the top, leading to two bottles of medicine in yellow and blue, and concluding with a clipboard featuring a green check mark, symbolizing the successful completion of treatment.

Figure 1.The VirusExpress® Lentivirus Production Platform features a suspension adapted HEK293T cell line, chemically defined medium, and production process with proven performance.

VirusExpress® Lentiviral Production Platform

Our VirusExpress® platform offers a transfection-based solution for lentiviral (LV) production challenges, featuring a suspension adapted cell line, chemically defined medium, and process with proven performance at clinically relevant scale. The platform can dramatically reduce time in process development and scale-up, either within your own facilities or using our contract manufacturing capabilities to speed your therapy to patients. Attributes include:

  • cGMP banked and characterized cells
  • Chemically defined medium
  • Proven performance for cell growth, plasmid transfection, and lentiviral production in bioreactors at scale
  • License available for clinical and commercial use

VirusExpress® 293T Lentiviral Production Cells are optimized for production of lentiviral vectors for gene therapy applications. Comprehensive user protocols guide you from seed train through at-scale transfection and virus production, allowing seamless scale-up. Robust quality documentation enables regulatory filings and commercialization of your gene-modified cell therapy.

A colorful graphical representation of a process where purple geometric shapes are extracted from a yellow and orange palette, then transformed into two colorful bottles of substances, which are then tested and approved as indicated by a green check mark on a clipboard.

Figure 2.The VirusExpress® AAV Production Platform features a suspension adapted HEK293 cell line, chemically defined medium, and production process with proven performance.

VirusExpress® AAV Production Platform

The VirusExpress® AAV Production Platform offers a transfection based solution to Adeno-Associated Viral (AAV) production challenges, featuring a suspension adapted cell line, chemically defined medium, and a clinically relevant process dramatically reducing time to commercial production. VirusExpress® offers the flexibility to use either our contract manufacturing capabilities or your own facilities to speed your therapy to patients.

  • A suspension adapted cell line of 293 AAV Production Cells optimized for production of AAV vectors for gene therapy applications.
  • Chemically defined medium to alleviate animal origin and supply chain concerns.
  • Cell banks manufactured according to GMP (21CFR210, 211, 600, 610) and fully characterized.
  • Proven performance for cell growth, plasmid transfection, and AAV production in large-scale bioreactors at clinically and commercially relevant scale which yielded genome titers in excess of >2x1010 gc/mL.
  • Licenses available for research, clinical and commercial use dependent on which phase of gene therapy development is needed.
  • Reduced time in process development and scale-up by approximately 40%.
  • Robust quality documentation to support regulatory filings and commercialization of your gene modified cell therapy or gene therapy.

We have the right cell lines, media products, manufacturing technologies and expertise to meet our customers’ timelines and their patients’ needs. By utilizing the VirusExpress® AAV Production Platform, we estimate you may be able to begin clinical manufacture in as little as 6 months as opposed to ~3 years for a custom cell line and process since clone selection, cell line development and GMP cell banking are complete, as well as substantial process development and largescale bioreactor development. Leveraging our expertise in viral vector manufacturing as well as utilizing our templated process solutions will help deliver your gene therapy to patients faster.





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