DOWNSTREAM PROCESS DEVELOPMENT

Downstream Process DevelopmentDownstream Process Development

The core members of Zencore's downstream process development team have more than a decade of deep expertise in this field and have accumulated invaluable experience. Years of hands-on refinement have produced a mature protein purification and process development platform, delivering stable, reliable, high-quality service to clients.

Core team with 10+ years of deep expertiseaverage completion in 1.5 monthsmAb recovery up to 80%200+ projects of experienceA deeply customized R&D system
Back to Biologics CDMO Services
1.5months
average completion time, as fast as 1 month
70%
Average monoclonal antibody recovery of up to 80%
200+
Project experience in downstream development of protein drugs
11 items
Downstream unit operation service coverage
Platform Features

Distinctive features of Zencore's downstream process development platformWhy Zencore DSP

01

A powerful, comprehensive platform

Supporting a range of process R&D activities, such asChromatography process development and optimization, microfiltration or ultrafiltration process development, viral clearance process development

02

Fast R&D

averaging 1.5 monthscompleted within, as fast as 1 month

03

High product recovery

Monoclonal antibodies average 70%, reaching as high as 80%, with process- and product-related impurity levels significantly below specification limits.

04

Broad coverage

Broadly covering most protein drugs in the biopharmaceutical industry, includingMonoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies, recombinant proteins, fusion proteins and cytokines, all with extensive project experience (200+).

05

Customizable services

includingPreclinical process development and IND filing, early clinical sample manufacturing, late-stage clinical process validation, risk control and assessment, and process characterization, and assists clients in completing NDA/BLA filings

Tailored R&D System

A deeply customized process R&D systemFrom CQA to Operating Range

Gaining product knowledge through in-depth understanding of client products to ensure quality attributes remain within a controlled range after process scale-up.

In-depth product understanding

Gaining the relevant product knowledge and completing risk assessment for product development

Define CQAs and CPPs

Defining critical quality attributes (CQAs) and critical process parameters (CPPs)

obtaining the design space

Formulating a series of experimental protocols to establish the process design space

Confirming the operating range

Confirming the operating range of critical process parameters through experiments and risk assessment

Controllable scale-up

Ensuring product quality attributes remain within a controlled range after process scale-up

What We Offer

Zencore downstream process development will provide you withService Scope

01Rapid purification of milligram- to gram-scale protein
02Standardized downstream unit operations and platform processes for monoclonal antibody products
03Targeted development and optimization of downstream unit operations and process flows specific to non-mAb products
04Clarification process development (depth filtration, centrifugation)
05Chromatographic purification process development and optimization (affinity, ion exchange, hydrophobic, mixed-mode chromatography)
06Viral inactivation (low-pH incubation, S/D treatment) and viral filtration process development
07Tangential flow process development
08Pilot-scale purification process technology transfer
09Risk assessment of each purification unit operation
10Scale-down models and process characterization
11Chromatography resin lifetime and cleaning studies
Zencore Biologics downstream process development laboratory
Workflow

Development workflowTypical Downstream Train

A complete downstream purification route from harvest clarification to final filtration.

Downstream process development workflow: harvest clarification, capture, viral inactivation, depth filtration, polish 1, polish 2, viral filtration, tangential flow filtration, final filtration
Standard downstream unit operation chain: dedicated process routes can be custom-designed for non-mAb products
STEP 01Harvest clarification
STEP 02Capture
STEP 03Viral inactivation
STEP 04Depth filtration
STEP 05Polish 1
STEP 06Polish 2
STEP 07Viral filtration
STEP 08Tangential flow filtration
STEP 09Final filtration
Case Studies

Case StudiesSuccess Stories

Purification strategy design and parameter optimization solving three representative challenges.

CASE 01

Aggregate removal

Challenge

In an mAb project, the upstream expression product had high aggregate content. Cation exchange chromatography separated aggregates poorly and suffered from self-aggregation, failing to meet target purity with low yield (approximately 70%).

Zencore's actions

Based on the team's extensive project experience and deep command of downstream purification techniques,rapidly screening hydrophobic resins, optimizing flow-through hydrophobic chromatography conditions to achieve optimal aggregate removal.

Results show

Flow-through hydrophobic chromatography effectively removes aggregates even at higher loading capacities than cation exchange chromatography. The purified sample SEC purity >99%, chromatographyYield up to 90%; the flow-through process offers advantages in manufacturing convenience and cost-effectiveness.

High molecular weight aggregate content, HMW content (%)
~7.5Loading sample ~2.5CEX ~0.5HIC flow-through
Aggregate content dropped significantly after method optimization · SEC purity >99% / yield 90%
CASE 02

Removing low-molecular-weight impurities and homodimers

Challenge

In a bispecific antibody project, the upstream expression product had low purity, with considerable low-molecular-weight impurities (HC+ScFv-Fc) and homodimers (ScFv-Fc)*2. Because these impurities resemble the target molecule in charge and hydrophobicity, they are difficult to separate by polishing methods such as ion exchange, hydrophobic or mixed-mode chromatography.

Zencore's actions

Based on the bispecific antibody's molecular structure, using Differences in affinity of Protein A resins for the target molecule versus impurity molecules, screening affinity resins and optimizing elution conditions to separate and remove (HC+scFv-Fc) and homodimers (scFv-Fc)*2.

Results show

obtaining isocratic elution conditions for affinity chromatography,Complete removal of two types of product-related impurities, NR-CE purity from increased from 70% to 90%; and in 200 L scaleProduction confirmed the robustness and scalability of the process. The affinity capture step's design also removes impurities, greatly reducing the burden on subsequent polishing steps.

Comparison of purification strategies: bar chart of peak proportions for conventional versus optimized Protein A affinity chromatography
Conventional vs. optimized Protein A affinity chromatography: impurity peak eliminated, target peak 67% - 88%
CASE 03

Downstream purification process characterization

Challenge

In a recombinant protein project, the downstream purification workflow was complex, early development data were limited, and understanding of how each step's process parameters affect product quality attributes was limited.

Zencore's actions

Establishing scale-down models for each step, conducting preliminary experimental studies scientifically based on the team's extensive theoretical and development experience; analyzing preliminary results, performing risk assessment in combination with earlier development and production batch data, and formulating the process characterization study plan.

Results show

Preliminary experiment analysis deepens process understanding, supports sound risk assessment scoring and characterization DoE design, and accelerates process characterization progress. Through DoE experiments and data analysis,Established the design space for process parameters at each step, and throughWorst-case step linkage experimentsverified.

HCP-DEAE step four-dimensional response contour plots (multiple linear regression)
HCP-DEAE four-dimensional response contour plot (MLR): locking in the design space
Process characterization statistics panel: reproducibility, summary of fit, coefficients and residual analysis
DoE model statistics: Replicates - Summary of Fit - Coefficients - Residuals
Key Instruments

Main equipmentKey Equipment

A dual-track equipment platform for chromatography and tangential flow filtration, supporting process development through scale-up validation.

Sartoflow Smart automated tangential flow filtration system

Sartoflow® Smart

An automated tangential flow filtration system for ultrafiltration/diafiltration process development and scale-up

AKTA Pure 25 chromatography systems

ÄKTA pure 25

Chromatography systems for capture and polishing process development and optimization

AKTA avant 25/150 chromatography systems

ÄKTA avant 25/150

Chromatography systems for high-resolution screening and parallel DoE experiments

Stable, reliable, high-quality purification processes

From rapid milligram-scale purification to pilot-scale process transfer and characterization, Zencore's downstream platform safeguards your product quality and yield.

Inquire about downstream process development