BUZZ Sessions

FACILITATED, SMALL-GROUP DISCUSSIONS. INTERACTIVE PARTICIPATION LEADS TO PROBLEM-SOLVING SOLUTIONS AND FUTURE COLLABORATIONS AROUND FOCUSED TOPICS.

What’s the BuzZ about?

PepTalk’s BuzZ Sessions are focused, stimulating discussions in which delegates discuss important and interesting topics related to upstream protein expression and production through downstream scale-up and manufacturing. This is a moderated discussion with brainstorming and interactive problem-solving between scientists from diverse areas who share a common interest in the discussion topic. The discussions are scheduled for:

Tuesday 4:15 – 5:00 PM

Recombinant Protein Production Part 1

BuzZ Table 1: Getting the Math Right: Adding and Subtracting Post-Translational Modifications (PTMs) to Recombinant Proteins
Moderator: Christopher Cooper, PhD, Director and Head of Protein Sciences, CHARM Therapeutics

  • Choosing an appropriate QC method for your budget
  • Moving on from biotinupcoming alternative protein labelling technologies
  • Challenges in addition of site-specific PTMs (e.g. phosphorylation) and protein PTMs (e.g. ubiquitin, SUMO)
  • Advances in (de)glycosylation and its analysis

BuzZ Table 2: Improving Membrane Protein Yield and Quality
Moderator: Neha Bhat, PhD, Sr Scientist, Biologics Discovery, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine

  • Advancements in detergents and nanodisc technologies
  • Emerging techniques to overcome instability
  • High-throughput screening and process automation approaches
  • Overcoming Glycosylation and Post-Translational Challenges
  • Case studies and practical challenges

Automation in Protein Sciences

BuzZ Table 3: Balancing High-Throughput Expression with Data Capture/Analysis 
Moderator: James Kostas, Senior Scientist, Protein and Structural Chemistry, Merck

  • How do we track data captured at every stage of the protein production lifecycle?
  • Is higher throughput ALWAYS better or does it just push the bottleneck downstream?
  • How do we connect, analyze, and correlate data from different sources (instruments, databases, e-notebooks) in order to draw conclusions from our data?
  • How do we effectively QC HT data?
  • How can we use our data to reduce the number of samples in future design-test-make cycles? 

BuzZ Table 4: Challenges in High-Throughput Production Platforms
Moderator: Kristoff Homan, PhD, Senior Principal Scientist, Discovery Biotherapeutics, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

  • HT production approaches
  • Incorporating AI/ML predictions into workflows
  • Challenges with emerging modalities
  • Functional assessment of molecules

BuzZ Table 5: LIMS Level-Up
Moderators:
Emma Altman, Senior Research Associate, Protein Sciences, Kite, a Gilead Company

Nicole Cannon, Protein Sciences, Kite Pharma

  • Tips, but no tricks, for starting a LIMS
  • Data management pitfalls & solutions
  • Limitations - where to draw the line?
  • Reckless encouragement

Methods for Developability Analysis

BuzZ Table 6: Building the End-to-End Workflow in Analytical Development: Current and Future Technologies
Moderator: Kevin Zen, PhD, Director, Analytical Development, Opthea Limited

  • High throughput analytics for developability workflow
  • Immunogenicity prediction and ex vivo assays to assess immunogenicity
  • Aggregation prediction and analytical technologies to assess aggregation propensity
  • PTM prediction and analytical tools to assess molecular liability
  • Balance between biological function and biophysical stability

BuzZ Table 7: AI and ML in Biotherapeutic Process Development and Manufacturing: Hype vs. Reality
Moderator: Carme Pons Royo, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Realistic Expectations: Where does AI/ML provide the most value and where does it fall short in bioprocessing. 
  • Feasibility: How practical are these tools for biologics manufacturing?
  • Upstream Applications: Can AI/ML improve cell culture optimization, media selection, and yield prediction?
  • Downstream Relevance: How AI can assist with purification, process scaling, and troubleshooting bottlenecks?
  • Analytics and Monitoring: Using AI to predict product stability, aggregation, and monitor CQAs in continuous manufacturing.
  • Integration Strategies: Practical tips for validating and embedding AI/ML models into existing workflows.

Targeted Radioligand Therapies

BuzZ Table 8: Challenges in the Production and Distribution of Short-Lived Radiopharmaceuticals
Moderator: Arshad Ahmed, Founder & CEO, Zaylan Associates

  • Time constraints from production, QC to delivery
  • Pros and cons of decentralized production
  • The need for specialized production facilities and highly skilled personnel 
  • Regulatory compliance 
  • Supply chain logistics 
  • Waste management​

Thursday 7:30 – 8:15 AM

Recombinant Protein Production Part 2

BuzZ Table 1: Therapeutic Protein Production: Innovations and Best Practices
Moderator: Robert M. Hughes, PhD, Associate Professor, Chemistry, East Carolina University

  • Construct Design and Misfolding Prevention
  • Leveraging Machine Learning and Data Optimization
  • Cell-Free Systems for Complex Protein Synthesis

BuzZ Table 2: Common Issues with Protein Production
Moderators:
Richard Altman, MS, Field Application Scientist, Life Science Solutions, Thermo Fisher Scientific
Henry C. Chiou, PhD, Senior Director General Manager, Biosciences, Thermo Fisher Scientific  (Recently Retired)

  • What are the current challenges to protein production?​
  • How do we optimize the whole protein expression workflow process?
  • How can we maintain volumetric yields while scaling expression up or down?
  • What cell line(s) should we use and when?
  • What parameters can impact the quality or physical attributes of produced proteins?
  • What are the obstacles and potential solutions for transient protein production?

Cutting-Edge Tools for Purification and Quality Assurance

BuzZ Table 3: Towards Wholly de novo Proteins
Moderator: Cole A. DeForest, PhD, Weyerhaeuser Endowed Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Washington

  • Computational protein design
  • Non-canonical amino acid incorporation via genetic code expansion
  • Engineered cell lines and non-traditional expression hosts

BuzZ Table 4: Special Challenges in Routine Protein Production
Moderator: David Wood, PhD, Co-Founder, CSO, Protein Capture Science; Professor, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University

  • When you needed the protein yesterday - high pressure production
  • How things change when this protein may be headed for the clinic
  • Out of left field - strange things that proteins do, and what to do back

Characterization for Novel Biotherapeutics

BuzZ Table 5: Multiple Challenges for Multispecific Antibodies
Moderator: Meghan M. Verstraete, PhD, Scientist, Protein Engineering, Zymeworks, Inc.

  • Prioritizing parameters to screen in early discovery (format, paratopes, affinity, valency, etc.)
  • Purification and characterization of multispecific antibodies and product-related impurities
  • Challenges with benchmarking developability criteria for multispecific antibodies
  • Pros and cons of multispecific antibody therapeutics vs. combination of bispecific/monospecific therapeutics

Next-Generation Protein Degradation

BuzZ Table 6: Multispecific Antibody Design and Production Strategies for Maximizing Target and Tissue Selectivity
Moderator: Andy Goodrich, PhD, Associate Director, Biologics, Epibiologics

  • Protein design and degrader selection strategies to enhance tissue selectivity
  • Antibody developability assessments to ensure specificity and drug-like properties
  • Multispecific protein production and purification from screening through manufacturing​

These are forums for open discussion of protein-related challenges, and not sales opportunities. We emphasize that these breakout groups are for interactive discussions among scientists and are not meant to be, in any way, a corporate or product discussion. Topics can be limited to one protein area or may address issues which cross over the borders between pipeline conference topics. Moderators should be well-versed in the topic area and able to keep the discussion focused and productive. BuzZ Sessions are IN-PERSON ONLY. If you are interested in moderating a breakout group, contact Mary Ann Brown at mabrown@healthtech.com

Continue to check back for topics updates.