A perfusion system for high productivity of monoclonal antibody by hybridoma cells in a CelliGen bioreactor.

DA4-4 (ATCC HB57) is a shear sensitive mouse-mouse hybridoma cell, producing an IgG1 monoclonal antibody against human IgM. It was grown successfully in a perfusion propagation system consisting of a 1.5 CelliGen stirred bioreactor and a hollow fiber cartridge. CelliGen system produced low shear force and cells could grow well at high agitation of 150 rpm. The culture was maintained for 40 days and cell number reached 20 x 10(6)/ml. Maximal monoclonal antibody concentration was 4.75 mg/ml. This system produced about 1.0 g of antibody every day at its peaks.