The Protein Formulation Forum took place on 17-18 June 2010 in Barcelona. The aim of this conference, arranged by Marcus Evans, was to exchange ideas, current research and findings in protein formulation to aid the preparation of final stage therapeutics, for the general market. Representative speakers from both academia and industry were present to give a mixed perspective of current research being carried out.
Biopharmaceutical formulation is an important topic, as more and more protein-based therapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies are reaching the marketplace. The tendency for such materials to aggregate and the problems associated with aggregated products are well documented and a better understanding of drug formulation to prevent aggregation is needed.
My work has been focussed at developing a systematic engineered approach to formulation design through the coupling of ultra scale down and designed experiments to provide a high throughput automatable approach to formulation. While my research has been primarily aimed at lyophilization, the approach is applicable to all areas of formulation design.
In line with the aims of the conference, I spoke for forty minutes on my work in both formulation optimization and cycle design. My presentation, based partly on work that has been published and partly on work that is soon to be published, was well received and generated genuine interest amongst the participants. Furthermore, the ability to network and create connections with the other experts in my field was a major advantage particularly as I am currently looking for work in industry and would like to leverage my formulation knowledge to full advantage within the job market.
Yitzchak Grant
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