Downstream Processing

The fermentation processes that are used by biopharmaceutical manufacturers have shown to lead to increasing quantities of therapeutic proteins. However, this increase in turn leads to capacity bottlenecks in the subsequent purification process (known as downstream processing) and is associated with high costs. Downstream processing comprises up to 80 per cent of the entire production costs. Producers are increasingly recognising the present need for improvement and have shifted their focus from improving the production process (upstream) to improving the downstream process.