It is still the case that the uncontrolled spread of Covid-19 leads to the evolution of new variants that continue to cause the disease. The rapidly evolving epidemiology of the COVID-19 pandemic and absence of licensed therapeutics or alternative vaccines to protect against infection accelerates the need for scientific breakthrough. Affinity characterization, neutralization, and competition studies are essential in the selection of high affinity and potentially neutralizing lead candidates for therapeutic and vaccine development against SARS CoV-2. Kinetic analysis further describes the components of association and dissociation that comprise the overall affinity, while cross-competition assays allow for the identification of more optimal candidates.

Techniques that enable greater accuracy in the identification of lead molecules are considerably needed in the industry. In addition to accuracy in identifying functionally specific molecules, achieving the necessary throughput to support screening needs is another major challenge in early discovery and during process development. Technologies that can accurately identify the right targets and deliver the throughput necessary for screening large panels, would significantly reduce the time to the discovery and ultimately help lower costs.

Bio-Layer Interferometry (BLI) is especially versatile in the screening of biologics during discovery, cell line development and bioprocessing. Octet^® systems provide antibody discovery scientists with a single solution for monitoring antibody-antigen interactions in the selection of lead molecules and determining titer in high-throughput. The systems provide robust label-free analysis of crude samples to assess biomolecular interactions, like kinetic rate constants, affinity binding constants, and specific molecule quantitation. High-throughput screening of up to 96 samples in parallel allow for early selection of engineered molecules and optimization of their production.

Octet BLI platforms are helping accelerate research on Coronavirus by providing:

• High-throughput kinetic interaction analysis solutions to rapidly select and characterize antigenic targets, vaccine and therapeutic candidates
• Efficient workflows with wide range of biosensors tailored for vaccine and biotherapeutic development research
• Fast and flexible platform for antibody epitope characterization and coverage determination
• Versatile solutions in upstream and downstream vaccine development and manufacturing such as vaccine potency, stability, and titer measurements

The instruments do not contain microfluidics components, thereby significantly reducing assay complexity.  This eliminates individual sample loading times, omits time-consuming cleaning steps and reduces other all operating costs.

Benefits of the BLI technology:

• Fluidics-free industry standard for label-free analysis
• High-quality protein kinetics and quantitation in real-time
• Flexibility of sample type including crude matrices such as cell lysates or culture supernatants
• Maximum productivity and throughput
• One platform, countless assay options
• Wide fit across biologics development and manufacturing
• Unmatched cost-effectiveness
• Responsive and customized scientific support
• Reliable global service and supply chain

High-throughput capability and assay versatility enable rapid development and qualification of test methods for monitoring critical quality attributes (CQAs) of biopharmaceutical products.

A comprehensive GxP portfolio of products and services is available to meet compliance requirements in QC. Above all Sartorius is a leading international partner of the biopharmaceutical industry and the research sector providing a reliable supply chain and a global service team.

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