Flexible upstream biomanufacturing system sets new standards in CHO cellbased drug production.

Innovative upstream engineering, suspended skid design, and MSAT integration enable flexible, future-ready biopharmaceutical production.

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Milestone project for CHO-based drug production. Flexible upstream system with 12,000L capacity.

The LSCC project represents a milestone in Austria’s biopharmaceutical landscape. As part of a site expansion in Vienna, the facility was designed for the production of innovative drugs using mammalian (CHO) cell cultures. ZETA was entrusted with the complete engineering and implementation of the upstream process, from media preparation to harvest, including seed expansion up to 12,000 liters. The plant was conceived as a multipurpose system, enabling high flexibility for future product changes while ensuring process safety and reproducibility.

Mastered challenges.

Equipment integration

The free-hanging super skid solution allowed perfect integration of the skids into the cleanroom and makes it easy to clean the floor underneath the fermenters.

Process transfer support

A pilot-scale Manufacturing Science and Technology (MSAT) unit was installed in the adjacent building to support process transfer and troubleshooting.

Rapid time to market

ZETA fulfilled all customer objectives with regard to the scope of delivery – from pre-basic engineering through to finishing the installation after 26 months, plus commissioning and qualification on the customer’s premises.

The challenge

The plant has to be designed for high flexibility, to meet the key requirement of a multipurpose facility and to permit future adaptations and reconfigurations for new products while maintaining stability, process safety and reproducibility. Process control and monitoring of the critical parameters are extremely important in upstream processing.

The solution

Fast-track project execution

The project’s success was driven by close collaboration across disciplines – process, mechanical, automation, and quality engineering – ensuring seamless integration and technical excellence. Within just 26 months, ZETA completed installation, followed by commissioning and qualification.

Technical excellence coupled with high-quality engineering

ZETA developed several groundbreaking solutions to meet the project’s complexity. A free-hanging (suspended) skid design for fermenters up to 6 kL allowed easy cleanroom integration and floor cleaning. The BMRF XXL magnetic agitator, co-developed with TU Hamburg, enabled efficient oxygen transfer in 12 kL bioreactors while minimizing contamination risks. A dedicated MSAT unit was built to support process transfer and troubleshooting, featuring pilot-scale fermenters and CIP systems. ZETA also customized and integrated nine single-use rocking-motion bioreactors into the stainless steel environment, enabling a flexible inoculum train. Throughout the project, ZETA ensured GMP compliance through rigorous qualification, including dynamic testing. These innovations underscore ZETA’s role as a high-end engineering partner capable of delivering complex, future-proof biopharmaceutical facilities.

Magnetic Agitators Services

Skid with large production tank in ZETA workshop

In the multipurpose plant, a wide range of operating conditions is available and switching between them is smooth and straightforward.

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Andreas Glössl

Senior Director Business Line Customised Systems

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