KGI Professor Matt Croughan Discusses CHO Cell Culture at SBE Conference

CLAREMONT, Calif., Jan. 18, 2008 – Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) today announced that Dr. Matthew Croughan, KGI’s George B. and Joy Rathmann professor and director of the Amgen Bioprocessing Center, will discuss 25 years of key achievements and technical challenges regarding Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture at the Society for Biological Engineering’s First International Conference on Stem Cell Engineering on Wednesday, January, 23, 2008, in Coronado, Calif.

CHO cell culture has emerged as one of the dominant methods for production of recombinant proteins, especially high-dose therapeutic antibodies. Annual sales of products made by CHO cells now exceed $30 billion.

For example, Amgen and Genentech make many of their products, including Embrel (arthritis), Aranesp (kidney disease, anemia), Herceptin (breast cancer) and Rituxan (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma), from CHO cells.

“There are few scientists who know more about CHO cells than Matt Croughan,” said Sheldon Schuster, Ph.D., KGI’s president. “As Genentech developed advanced CHO cell culture processes to manufacture proteins, Matt Croughan was there helping to make history. Matt’s career is emblematic of KGI’s teaching philosophy and our applied research. He is just the person to provide a perspective on the importance of CHO cells at the Society for Biological Engineering’s conference.”

Croughan’s presentation, “Manufacturing Stem Cells: Lessons Learned from 25 Years of CHO Cell Culture for Recombinant Protein Production,” will take place as part of a panel discussion on bioreactors and bioprocesses for cell expansion and differentiation.

In addition to his full-time teaching and research duties at KGI, Croughan continues to work as an independent consultant, providing expert guidance on biopharmaceutical process development and manufacturing issues for more than 40 firms including Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Maxygen, Alavita, Xoma and Schering-Plough.

Croughan was the chief scientist for Genentech’s cell culture facility in Vacaville, CA, built for the production of therapeutic antibodies. Earlier at Genentech, he developed the first FDA-licensed, fed-batch CHO cell culture process, a breakthrough platform technology now used throughout the biopharmaceutical industry.

KGI Background
Educating the future leaders of the bioscience industry, Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) offers an interdisciplinary graduate education through its Master of Bioscience (MBS) degree program and its Ph.D. program in Applied Life Sciences. Using team-based learning and real-world projects, KGI's innovative curriculum seamlessly combines applied life sciences, bioengineering, bioethics and business management. KGI also has a robust research program concentrating on the translation of basic discoveries in the life sciences into applications that can benefit society. KGI is a member of The Claremont Colleges, located in Claremont, California.