Los Angeles, CA – September 23, 2025 – A research team at the Terasaki Institute, led by Dr. Vadim Jucaud in collaboration with Dr. Jing Yong Ye from the University of Texas San Antonio, has developed a new microfluidic-based biosensing platform that allows monitoring cellular secretion of monoclonal antibody in real time. This approach can make monoclonal antibody production more efficient, ultimately lowering manufacturing costs so these important biotherapeutics become more accessible to patients.
Monoclonal antibodies have become essential for treating various diseases, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory conditions, infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, neurological diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. The global demand for monoclonal antibodies, with over $240 billion in sales in 2024 alone, requires large-scale manufacturing with efficient, precise, and cost-effective monitoring of their production processes. Currently, monoclonal antibody production monitoring relies on end-point assays that fail to capture the real-time cellular secretion.
Dr. Jucaud's team has developed the first biosensing platform to rapidly and cost-effectively track live antibody secretion dynamics. The microfluidic design minimizes culture volume, concentrates antibodies, and positions hybridoma cell lines directly above a PC-TIR biosensor—originally developed by Dr. Ye's group at the University of Texas San Antonio. This setup enables characterization of antibody secretion within one hour, providing a powerful tool for comparing cell lines, optimizing production methods, and selecting high-secreting clones to advance monoclonal antibody manufacturing while lowering costs.
"This work exemplifies how advanced biosensor technologies can revolutionize biomanufacturing," said Dr. Danial Khorsandi, first author of the publication.
"With this biosensor, we can spot the true 'powerhouse' cells that secrete antibodies at the highest rates per cell. This precision lets us identify and prioritize the best producers early in the process," added Dr. Vadim Jucaud, Principal Investigator. "Because antibody secretion rate is directly tied to manufacturing efficiency, selecting these powerhouse cells could transform how we scale up monoclonal antibody production, ultimately driving down costs and making life-saving immunotherapies more affordable for patients."
Dr. Jucaud's team anticipates that the platform's rapid, accurate, and scalable design will support fundamental research and industrial-scale biomanufacturing, helping meet the global need for antibody-based diagnostics and therapies. Overall, this new platform provides a way to streamline production, reduce unnecessary costs, and expand the availability of these therapies to more patients.
A link to the publication can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2025.117979
A link to Dr. Vadim Jucaud's lab page can be found here: https://terasaki.org/institute/research/investigators/vadim-jucaud-laboratory.html
