Scalable, methanol-free manufacturing of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain in engineered Komagataella phaffii

Prevention of COVID-19 on a global scale will require the continued development of high-volume, low-cost platforms for the manufacturing of vaccines to supply ongoing demand. Vaccine candidates based on recombinant protein subunits remain important because they can be manufactured at low costs in existing large-scale production facilities that use microbial hosts like Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris). Here, we report an improved and scalable manufacturing approach for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD); this protein is a key antigen for several reported vaccine candidates. We genetically engineered a manufacturing strain of K. phaffii to obviate the requirement for methanol induction of the recombinant gene. Methanol-free production improved the secreted titer of the RBD protein by >5X by alleviating protein folding stress. Removal of methanol from the production process enabled to scale up to a 1200 L pre-existing production facility. This engineered strain is now used to produce an RBD-based vaccine antigen that is currently in clinical trials and could be used to produce other variants of RBD as needed for future vaccines.

Development of a platform process for the production and purification of single-domain antibodies

Single‐domain antibodies (sdAbs) offer the affinity and therapeutic value of conventional antibodies, with increased stability and solubility. Unlike conventional antibodies, however, sdAbs do not benefit from a platform manufacturing process. While successful production of a variety of sdAbs has been shown in numerous hosts, purification methods are often molecule specific or require affinity tags, which generally cannot be used in clinical manufacturing due to regulatory concerns. Here, we have developed a broadly applicable production and purification process for sdAbs in Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris) and demonstrated the production of eight different sdAbs at a quality appropriate for nonclinical studies. We developed a two‐step, integrated purification process without the use of affinity resins and showed that modification of a single process parameter, pH of the bridging buffer, was required for the successful purification of a variety of sdAbs. Further, we determined that this parameter can be predicted based only on the biophysical characteristics of the target molecule. Using these methods, we produced nonclinical quality sdAbs as few as 5 weeks after identifying the product sequence. Nonclinical studies of three different sdAbs showed that molecules produced using our platform process conferred protection against viral shedding of rotavirus or H1N1 influenza and were equivalent to similar molecules produced in Escherichia coli and purified using affinity tags.