PathoQuest has signed an agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to join the Consortium on Adventitious Agent Contamination in Biomanufacturing (CAACB) as an associate member.

PathoQuest brings its 10-year experience in viral safety testing and quality control of biologics to contribute to research programs to help mitigate the risk of adventitious agent contamination in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

This collaboration is expected to translate into practical advances in this field and accelerate the adoption of NGS for the viral safety testing of biologics.

PathoQuest has a long-standing experience in the viral safety testing of biologics. The company has numerous completed and ongoing comparative studies that provide evidentiary support of the robustness of PathoQuest’s proprietary NGS approach to assessing viral safety for vaccines, biotherapeutics, as well as cell and gene therapies.

Dr Audrey Brussel, PhD, PathoQuest’s Viral Safety Leader, will be the company representative to the CAACB in continuation of her previous participation while employed by SANOFI and LFB. Dr Brussel will provide input based on PathoQuest’s expertise and knowledge associated with the use of NGS as a robust and cost-effective alternative for the viral safety of biologics.

CAACB is an international consortium primarily composed of biopharmaceutical companies that are committed to the exploration and study of approaches to controlling and mitigating the risk of adventitious agent contamination in biomanufacturing. The consortium operates under the auspices of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Biomedical Innovation (MIT-CBI).