Biomanufacturing is a category in manufacturing that uses biological systems to manufacture biomaterials and biomolecules which are used in food and beverage processing, medicines, and industrial applications. The products are regained from natural resources such as microbes, animal cells, plant cells or blood.

What are biomaterials?

They are substances that have been devised to interact with biological systems for medical purposes – either therapeutic (augment, treat, repair or replace tissue operation of the body) or diagnostic.

What is a biomolecule?

They are molecules that are present in living beings. They are found in carbohydrates, proteins, primary metabolites, nucleic acids, secondary metabolites, and lipids.

What are the products of biomanufacturing?

The market today has hundreds of products of biomanufacturing. Here are a few products:

• Detergents

• Amino acids

• Vaccines

• Enzymes

• Biopharmaceuticals

The nerve regenerator and the absorbable heart stent are two of the newest amazing products to emerge thanks to biomanufacturing.

Popular biomanufacturing methods include Fermentation, Blood Plasma Fractionation, Column Chromatography, Cell Culture, and Homogenisation.

What is the future of biomanufacturing?

The present economic and technological environment surrounding the biomanufacturing industry is ideal for quick growth. Advancements in technology and innovation have paved way, making many things possible.

According to industry leaders, this is the future of biomanufacturing:

• Complete Implementation of Continuous Manufacturing

Continuous production is a flow production method which is used to manufacture, process or produce materials without a break. The advantages offered by continuous production are huge. It increases productivity, provides increased flexibility, reduces operating costs, and a shortage of cleaning issues. It decreases downtime which increases the number of products getting processed.

• Updating Existing Infrastructure with Automation

Automation will have a huge impact on bioengineering. It promotes new processing strategies which will bridge the gap for companies with an existing infrastructure. It will increase the efficiency of buffer dilution, dosing the bioreactor, creation of gradients in chromatography, and pH changes in the process. In addition to automation, the pumps and valve controls should be scaled down and made more precise for smaller-scale processing and continuous manufacturing.

• Integrated Facilities

Integrated facilities add user flexibility and multi-product facilities. The ability to have different equipment that can be infused is advantageous. It is beneficial for supply chain price and integrity. If there are issues with the vendor regarding supply or quality, a new vendor can be added to provide stability and reduce costs.

• Reshaping The Process Train

Facilities that produce multiple products need to change the process train with ease. Traditional Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) are designed for a single product and one process, with increasing yield at the lowest possible cost as the goal. To produce multiple products, facilities need to recompose product mix and production time. Top MES allows facilities to take unit operations in and out of utilisation without losing in integration.

Biomanufacturing needs to address obstacles it will be facing in the future. But it is filled with opportunities for analytical technologies, original process control techniques, and produce therapeutics which are more effective.