Corporation de l'École Polytechnique de Montréal

Published purpose

The spike protein (S protein) of the pandemic coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is the antigen of choice for use in vaccines and serological diagnostic tests. There is thus a pressing need to develop a robust bioprocess allowing scale-up of spike protein production. One of the main challenges in upstream cell culture bioprocessing is to translate small-scale production protocols from laboratory to large-scale bioreactor. A fundamental understanding of the mixing/aeration process is essential for successful process scale-up, as this will ultimately dictate the performance of the culture and the final product yield. This Project aims at defining efficient bioreactor operating strategies to maximize the productivity of a stable transfected pool expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The knowledge derived from this Project will allow to guide the operation of pilot-scale (and beyond) bioreactors, thereby speeding-up NRC’s capacity to mass produce the S protein required for vaccine and diagnostic applications.