Animal Cell Culture Technology

Impact:
The increasing demand for new biopharmaceuticals is largely related to the manufacturing of complex biomolecules using animal cells. To date, approximately 50 percent of all licensed biopharmaceuticals are derived from mammalian cells and there is an uptrend for the next years due to the growing impact of monoclonal antibodies used as biopharmaceuticals and diagnostics.

Objectives:
Optimisation and exploitation of animal cells as

• Cell Factories("Products from Cells")
  Production of complex biomolecules and modern vaccines
  
  
• Products / Model systems ("Cells as Products")
  Development of novel techniques for (cancer) therapy

Research:
Research in Austria includes all relevant fields ranging from the cell biological and molecular genetic characterisation of animal cells to the development of GMP compliant processes for the production of biopharmaceuticals.

Biotech Business :
In addition to Baxter and Sandoz as Global Players, several emerging companies focused on animal cell technology have been founded in the last years in Vienna (e.g. Intercell, Igeneon, Polymun Scientific, TissueGnostics, Green Hills Biotechnology) and in the Technopol Krems (e.g. Cell Danube, MedBioscience).



Contact person: Dr. Dethardt Müller (IAM, BOKU Wien)