Today, NIIMBL (the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals) announced that a NIIMBL-led team will receive $10.5 Million in funding through the Gates Grand Challenges Program to advance exceptionally low-cost monoclonal antibody (mAb) manufacturing. Over the three-year award, key partners including Sartorius, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Enquyst Technologies, and the University of Delaware will demonstrate technologies that are expected to substantially reduce the cost to manufacture therapeutic antibodies, thereby enabling broader access to these types of medicines. Additional contributors include Penn State, Michigan Technological University, and University College London.
“We are excited by the opportunity to demonstrate that there are existing solutions developed by industry and academic partners that can significantly reduce cost of goods and accelerate timelines,” said Kelvin Lee, NIIMBL Institute Director. “We are honored to receive this grant from the Gates Foundation, which will enable this exceptional team to deliver meaningful advances to antibody production efficiency.”
MAbs offer targeted treatments for a range of conditions, such as infectious diseases, cancer, and autoimmune disorders that affect millions globally but are expensive to produce due to complexity in the manufacturing process, strict regulatory compliance, expensive raw materials, and infrastructure investments. This project team brings together specialized expertise in technologies, economic modeling, and manufacturing processes. The team will coordinate efforts over the lifespan of the award to test and demonstrate new approaches to mAb manufacturing that can be used as a basis to achieve the “$10 per gram” goal set out by the Gates Grand Challenge.