2020/07/28
Faculty of Pharmacy, Keio University
Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Japan Science and Technology Agency
The Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy, in a joint research project with the Graduate School of Engineering at The University of Tokyo, has developed a technology to purify antibody drugs using only temperature changes. This achievement is the result of research conducted by a group led by Associate Professor Kenichi Nagase and Professor Hideko Kanazawa of the Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy, and Associate Professor Ayae Akimoto of the Graduate School of Engineering at The University of Tokyo, as part of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Program for Advanced Measurement and Analysis Technology and Equipment Development.
Antibody drugs are gaining attention as effective pharmaceuticals with few side effects because they act specifically on target molecules in the body. In the manufacturing process of these antibody drugs, the step of purifying them from impurities is crucial.
In this study, we developed a column using a functional polymer that changes its properties in response to temperature variations. By using this column, we successfully purified antibody drugs by specifically adsorbing them onto the column and then recovering them by cooling the column.
The separation and purification method for antibody drugs proposed in this research not only maintains the activity of the antibody drugs but also has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of separation and purification in the manufacturing process. This is expected to potentially lower the price of antibody drugs.
The results of this research were published in the international academic journal "Scientific Reports" (online) on July 27, 2020 (UK time).
For the full press release, please see below.