Chapter 1: Process Model Evolution Launch
Landmark on 1st June in London
Attendees were warmly welcomed on June 1st and 2nd at the elegant Landmark Hotel in London. The event drew participants from afar as Japan (Asahi Kasei and Chugai Pharmaceutical) and Texas, USA (BDO). The gathering was prestigious, warm, and amicable.
The initial BioSolve Workshop and Fifth User Group Forum commenced with product manager Nick Graham providing the latest updates on the BioSolve Process platform. He discussed the new Sustainability and Solution Management add-ins available for BioSolve Process. The Sustainability add-in can estimate Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, which has garnered significant interest from our user community, as evidenced by the attendees. Therefore, we decided to make “Sustainability and Beyond” the central theme of the meeting.
Professor Alois Jungbauer delivered a keynote address that delved deeply into the Process Mass Intensity (PMI) metric, discussing its diverse applications and usage, which have been documented in multiple publications. It was fascinating to witness the impact of Chromatography on PMI values. Sa’ad Ojeili, our consultant engineer, delivered a compelling case study on the innovative Sustainability add-in developed for BioSolve Process. This cutting-edge add-in considers a project’s process, technology, and location when predicting environmental impact related to using materials, water, energy, and embedded carbon.
During the event, Dr Jochen Sieck from Merck Life Science KGaA spoke on Day 1 and Felix Dieringer from Takeda on Day 2. Both discussed sustainability measurements using different approaches. Dr Sieck highlighted the Cultured Meat application and compared its Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO2e footprint to that of the traditional meat industry. Further analysis is required in this field, and we eagerly await the developments.
During these meetings, participants share ideas and showcase various use cases for BioSolve Process. For instance, Andrea Vervoot from Virica Biotech presented on Day 1 the challenges and opportunities of using BioSolve Process models to demonstrate the value of their Viral Sensitizer technology in manufacturing viral products for the Gene Therapy field. Nick was busy taking notes while Alfred Luitjens, a CDMO user from Batavia Bioscience, presented his use of BioSolve Process models to understand and optimise the CoGM for a novel low-cost liquid rotavirus vaccine. It’s always inspiring to learn about ways to make crucial vaccines accessible to lower-income countries.
The day concluded with a presentation by Dr Behnam Partopour of Sartorius, followed by a welcoming networking event at the Grand Central Pub. Attendees had the opportunity to enjoy an authentic British experience. Everyone was in good spirits and later enjoyed dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant. Anticipation for the second day was high among the attendees.
