According to a recent survey by BioPlan Associates, a marketing research firm, more than 70% of biopharmaceutical manufacturing companies use single-use bioreactor bags. In addition, companies are finding substantial cost savings using disposable plastic systems over their traditional steel counterparts.
The benefits of using bioreactor bags include:
- Sterility: Utilizing single-use bags reduces the risk of contamination. Single-use bioreactor bags are sterile, and the tight seal lowers the chance of microbial contamination.
- Cost Reduction: Start-up investment costs are significantly lower for companies using disposable bioreactor bags compared to companies utilizing traditional systems.
- Environment: Environmental waste is cut exponentially. Bioreactor bags can be quickly incinerated. By eliminating the need to sterilize huge metal vats, companies also find enormous savings in water consumption.
The cost savings of single-use bags can be tremendous. Consider the costs that have recently impacted US citizens for producing monoclonal antibodies used to treat patients with COVID-19. These are typically manufactured in 2,000-liter batches. Companies using single-use bags are seeing cost savings of up to 30% over the same volume being produced in a stainless-steel facility. The manufacturing of these antibodies has generated the most significant growth in the use of bioreactor bags in 2020.