Pharma Manufacturing Podcast: Why Cell Line Development Determines Biologics Success

As biologics grow more complex, cell line development remains a key driver of speed, yield, and manufacturability. What was once a technical milestone is now a competitive differentiator, directly impacting time to Investigational New Drug (IND), cost of goods, and long-term scalability.

In this episode of Off Script, we spoke with Brett Verstak, director of cell line development at Abzena, to discuss how advanced Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-based platforms, glutamine synthetase (GS) knockout systems, automation, and AI-driven workflows are accelerating clone selection and reducing downstream risk. The conversation explores persistent bottlenecks in hard-to-express proteins, the value of integrated upstream development models, and how smarter platform design is helping drug developers move complex biologics to the clinic faster.

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