Date: Tuesday 8 December 2026
Time: 12:00 - 12:40
Location: Online
Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) is an emerging biomanufacturing platform that enables rapid protein production without the need for living cells. By supporting accelerated design-build-test cycles, deployable formats and lyophilised, shelf-stable reagents, CFPS has attracted growing interest for decentralised biologics manufacturing.
We investigate CFPS for the production of multiple biotherapeutic modalities across different expression systems. Using Escherichia coli-based cell-free extracts, vaccine and antibody candidates were rapidly expressed, demonstrating the versatility of bacterial CFPS for recombinant protein production. In parallel, a Pichia pastoris-derived cell-free platform was evaluated for virus-like particle (VLP) assembly, extending cell-free manufacturing capabilities to more structurally complex biologics.
Together, these case studies highlight the flexibility of CFPS as a common manufacturing framework for diverse therapeutic products. By combining speed, modularity and reduced infrastructure requirements, CFPS offers a promising route towards distributed biologics production, with potential applications in routine healthcare delivery and emergency response.