Biopharmaceuticals are often produced by recombinant E. coli or mammalian cell lines. This is usually achieved by the introduction of a gene or cDNA coding for the protein of interest into a well-characterized strain of producer cells. Naturally, each recombinant production system has its own unique advantages and disadvantages. This paper examines the current practices, developments, and future trends in the production of biopharmaceuticals. Platform technologies for rapid screening and analyses of biosystems are reviewed. Strategies to improve productivity via metabolic and integrated engineering are also highlighted.

1. CELL ENGINEERING AND
MOLECULAR PHARMING IN
BIOPHARMACEUTICALS
Presented by:
Angela Grace Abraham
BP/2023/1101
NIPER- Hyderabad

2. INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS CELL ENGINEERING
CASE STUDY: ENGINEERING CAR-T CELLS FOR CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY
CONTENTS
MOLECULAR PHARMING
HOST SYSTEMS FOR MOLECULAR PHARMING
LATEST INNOVATIONS IN BIOPHARMAVCEUTICALS
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES

3. INTRODUCTION
Biopharmaceuticals: Biopharmaceuticals are
defined as recombinant proteins, including
recombinant antibodies, and nucleic acid- and
genetically engineered cell-based products.
Cell Engineering: Refers to the
manipulation and modification of
cells for specific purposes,
involving the application of
principles from biology, genetics,
and engineering.
Molecular Pharming: Molecular Pharming is
to design and engineer proteins which exploit
the plant's manufacturing abilities, thereby
usage of plants as bioreactors for the
manufacture of therapeutically and
industrially important biopharmaceuticals.

4. WHAT IS CELL ENGINEERING?
• Introduction of a gene or cDNA
coding for a protein of interest into
well characterized strain of producer
cell
• Investigating and manipulation of
internal working of cell.
• Analysis to understand and control
cellular behaviour, with objective of
novel therapeutic or diagnostic
approaches.
• Modification of promoter strength of a
given gene, or by gene deletions, or by
introducing whole new genes or
pathways into the cells.
• Introduction of heterologous gene(s) in
a non-native genetic background, and
the sufficient expression of a cloned
gene in the new host system.
Ref: BRIDGE8,Exploring how science informs our future,
James Hutson,25 FEBRUARY, 2015

5. PROCEDURE AND TOOLS INVOLVED IN
CELL ENGINEERING
S
T
E
P
S
Choose Host Cells
Genetic Analysis
Design Genetic Constructs
Choose Gene Delivery Method
CRISPR/Cas9 Editing (if
applicable)
Cell Transformation
Cell Culture and Selection
Screening and Characterization
Scale-Up (if applicable)
Testing in Relevant Systems
CRISPR/Cas9 Technology
Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs)
TAL Effector Nucleases (TALENs)
Plasmid Vectors
Viral Vectors
Gene Synthesis
RNA Interference (RNAi)
Flow Cytometry

6. CASE STUDY: ENGINEERING CAR-T CELLS
FOR CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY
Logistics of CAR T- cell therapy:
1. Apheresis
2. T-cell modification
3. T- cell expansion and product formulation
4. Patient undergoes period of preconditioning
5. One time infusion of CAR T-cell
Ledford et al., 2023 January; Springer Nature Limited

7. CASE STUDY: ENGINEERING CAR-T CELLS
FOR CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY
Ledford et al., 2023 January; Springer Nature Limited

8. CASE STUDY: ENGINEERING CAR-T CELLS
FOR CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY
Ledford et al., 2023 January; Springer Nature Limited

9. CASE STUDY: ENGINEERING CAR-T CELLS
FOR CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY
Ledford et al., 2023 January; Springer Nature Limited

10. CASE STUDY: ENGINEERING CAR-T CELLS
FOR CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY
Ledford et al., 2023 January; Springer Nature Limited

11. CASE STUDY: ENGINEERING CAR-T CELLS
FOR CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY
Ledford et al., 2023 January; Springer Nature Limited

12. CASE STUDY: ENGINEERING CAR-T CELLS
FOR CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY
Kymriah- a cell-based gene
therapy, FDA granted approval of
Kymriah to Novartis
Pharmaceuticals Corp.
https://www.kymriah-rems.com/

13. Ref: CAR T Cells: Engineering Patients’ Immune Cells to Treat Their Cancers- published by the National Cancer Institute

14. MOLECULAR PHARMING
Biopharming means a practice of using
GM or engineered crops as bioreactors to
produce large therapeutic molecules
Reduced health risks from pathogen
contamination, comparatively high yields,
and production in seeds or other storage
organs
There are different expression platforms
(transgenic plants, plant cell culture, bacteria,
yeast, microalgae, animals, and animal cell
culture) for the production of pharmaceuticals.
Therefore plants are used as bioreactors for
the manufacture of therapeutically and
industrially important molecules

15. HOST SYSTEMS FOR MOLECULAR PHARMING
R
E
C
O
M
B
I
N
A
N
T
M
I
C
R
O
O
R
G
A
N
I
S
M
• Invariably produced in the
recombinant E. coli cell systems
such as E. coli K12. products
include tissue plasminogen
activator, insulin, interferons,
interleukin-2, granulocyte colony
stimulating factor and human
growth hormone.
• The advantages that are
normally associated with E.coli
include the well-characterized
molecular biology and the ease
of genetic manipulation.
E
U
K
A
R
Y
O
T
I
C
C
E
L
L
S
Y
S
T
E
M
S
• Major eukaryotic expression systems
such as yeast, Chinese hamster ovary
strain K1 (CHO-K1) or Baby hamster
kidney cells (BHK), is their ability to
carry out PTMs of protein product.
• The gp160 HIV vaccines for example
have been produced not only in insect
or CHO cell-lines, but also in
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
E.Coli K12 Strain-Darwin Biologicals

16. HOST SYSTEMS FOR MOLECULAR PHARMING
T
R
A
N
S
G
E
N
I
C
A
N
I
M
A
L
S
• Transgenic animal as a bioreactor
system for pharmaceutical production,
or for modification of tissues and
organs for transplantations, or as a
model system from DNA
microinjection to gene targeting and
cloning.
• EMEA has approved the use of ATryn,
a drug extracted from the milk of goats
engineered to carry human gene
involved in inhibiting blood clots.
T
R
A
N
S
G
E
N
I
C
P
L
A
N
T
S
• Different types of therapeutic proteins
such as blood and plasma proteins ,
cytokines and growth factors, enzymes
and others such as hirudin, endostatin and
human lactoferrin, have been produced in
transgenic plant systems mainly in tobacco
and potato
• Plants are advantageous as bio-factories,
because they are inexpensive to grow at a
large scale in greenhouses, bioreactors or
open fields. Plants can express complex
antigens while avoiding the risk of
carrying human pathogens or endotoxins,
which can contaminate viral, bacterial, and
insect or mammalian cell expression
systems.
ALAN ET ALL, MARCH, 2019

17. Ref: GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc., License # 1794
ATRYN Edible Vaccines:
Edible vaccines offers a cost-effective, needleless,
convenient, safe, easy and a better alternative to
vaccine production
There were quite a lot of plant-based
vaccines have been developed and most
of them are at clinical trial phase
So far, there is no edible vaccine
that was approved by USFDA
because, this type of vaccines
were characterized under
genetically modified crops.

18. LATEST TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS IN
BIOPHARMACEUTICALS
Human Stem Cells
Gene and Targeted Therapies
• Capable of self-renewal
• Application in the repair, regeneration and cellular replacement of damaged; also in the
toxicological screening and discovery of new therapeutic drug molecules, and as a tool for
in vitro investigation of cellular and developmental processes
• Cells may be sourced or derived from blood and tissues postnatally (‘adult’ stem C ells),
and from the fetus (fetal stem cells) or from the blastocyst in the developing embryo prior
to implantation (embryonic stem cells)
• It allows the transfer of genetic information into patient tissues and organs for the
diseased genes to be eliminated or their normal functions rescued
• The in vitro approach necessitates removal of the target cells such as blood cells, stem
cells, epithelial cells, muscle cells or hepatocytes from the body, cultured in vitro
together with vector containing nucleic acid to be delivered, and the genetically altered
cells reintroduced into the patient’s body
Ref: BRIDGE8,Exploring how science informs our future, James Hutson,25 FEBRUARY, 2015

19. LATEST TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS IN
BIOPHARMACEUTICALS
Metabolic Engineering
Genomics, Transcriptomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics and Fluxomics
• Strain improvement by mutagenesis and screening and genetic modifications such as
the deletion of proteases from the production strain, the introduction of multiple
copies of expressed genes, the use of strong promoters, gene fusions to well secreted
proteins, the use of native signal sequences, and overexpression of individual
endoplasmic reticulum-resident genes.
• Impact in drug discovery through synthesis of novel natural products and proteins
such as carotenoids, ascorbic and lactic acids, xylanases, progestrones, amino acids
and novel precursors to amino acids, biopolymers and chiral chemicals
These include DNA sequencer for genomic analysis, DNA microarray for transcriptomic
analysis , two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, protein microarray and protein function
microarray for proteomic analysis , gas chromatography ,high performance liquid
chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance , direct injection mass spectrometry, or Fourier
transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy for metabolomic, advanced fermentation
technology with on-line control and monitoring, and bioinformatics (including mathematical
models for analysis of pathway structures and control of pathway fluxes)
Ref: BRIDGE8,Exploring how science informs our future, James Hutson,25 FEBRUARY, 2015

20. CONCLUSION
• The ultimate aim of biopharma development is to improve the quality of life and to extend longevity.
• The quest for new drugs is never ending, as is the need to understand disease causes beyond the symptoms.
• The rapid emergence of new technologies is revolutionizing the biopharma industry, the approach in the
development of biopharmaceuticals require multi-pronged strategies.
• Promising among these are the development of molecular diagnostic technologies to elucidate, evaluate and
monitor diseases, vaccine technology principally the DNA-based viral vaccine, and the high-throughput
screening platform with real-time monitoring and analysis.
• The future for biopharmaceuticals production is indeed extremely bright and offers an unprecedented
opportunity.

21. REFERENCES
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development. Sig Transduct Target Ther 8, 112 (2023)
• Chenwang Tang, Lin Wang, Lei Zang, Qing Wang, Dianpeng Qi, Zhuojun Dai,On-demand biomanufacturing through
synthetic biology approach,Materials Today Bio,Volume 18,(2023)
• Yan X, Liu X, Zhao C, Chen GQ. Applications of synthetic biology in medical and pharmaceutical fields. Signal Transduct
Target Ther. (2023 May) 11;8(1):199.
• Dumont, J., Euwart, D., Mei, B., Estes, S., & Kshirsagar, R. (2016). Human cell lines for biopharmaceutical manufacturing:
history, status, and future perspectives. Critical reviews in biotechnology, 36(6), 1110–1122.
• Wang Z, Wu Z, Liu Y, Han W. New development in CAR-T cell therapy. J Hematol Oncol. (2017 Feb) 21;10(1):53
• Abdullah, M. A., Rahmah, A. U., Sinskey, A. J., & Rha, C. K. (2018). Cell engineering and molecular pharming for
biopharmaceuticals. The open medicinal chemistry journal, 2, 49–61
• Horn, M. E., Woodard, S. L., & Howard, J. A. (2014). Plant molecular farming: Systems and products. Plant Cell Reports,
22(10), 711-720
• CAR T Cells: Engineering Immune Cells to Treat Cancer - NCI
• Yoon, S., & Eom, G. H. (2020). Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy: A Novel Modality for Immune
Modulation. Chonnam medical journal, 56(1), 6–11
• Kurup, V.M., Thomas, J. Edible Vaccines: Promises and Challenges. Mol Biotechnol 62, 79–90 (2020)

22. THANK YOU!