South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion Inc. unveiled its proprietary cell line development platform for the first time on Tuesday, which is designed to enhance the efficiency of biopharmaceutical development and production.
Celltrion plans to apply the HI-CHO CLD platform technology not only to its own product but also to its future contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services.
A cell line refers to a collection of cells engineered for continuous growth and plays a critical role in producing recombinant antibody proteins, the key ingredients of therapeutic treatments.
HI-CHO is composed of a new Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) host cell line and a proprietary expression vector, according to the company.
This platform encapsulates the expertise and knowledge Celltrion has gained through its numerous biosimilar projects.
According to Celltrion, this platform technology shortens development time while ensuring the quality, productivity, and production stability of antibody drugs.
The HI-CHO cell line also exhibits faster growth and higher density of surviving cells post-cultivation compared to other commercial host cells.
Another advantage is that the company holds exclusive rights to this technology, as it is entirely developed in-house.
Celltrion has registered the trademark for the HI-CHO platform in the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom, and is currently applying for patents related to the technology.
The company plans to extend the application of this platform to the CDMO sector. It expects the high productivity and rapid development speed of the technology to be attractive to CDMO customers.
“Our HI-CHO platform will maximize the efficiency of antibody drug development and production,” said a Celltrion official. “We will do our best to strengthen our position as a leader in antibody therapeutics and strive to provide high-quality biopharmaceuticals to more patients through our HI-CHO technology.”
Celltrion also announced that it secured new global partners and potential clients at the CPHI Worldwide 2024, the largest global pharmaceutical and biotechnology exhibition, which took place in Milan, Italy, last week.
Its dedicated booth at the event attracted significant attention, with over 2,000 visitors stopping by, the company said.
By Kim Jee-hee and Yoon Yeon-hae