The encyclopedia · Engineering & Operations · Operational decision · 2012–2019
Aldevron cut protein purification lead times 25% by optimizing batch decisions
UW-Madison and Aldevron built OR decision tools that cut purification lead times 25% and costs 20%, then shared the toolkit industry-wide.
Aldevron
the move
Biomanufacturing decisions are hard because batch-to-batch variability makes yield, quality, cost and lead times uncertain. Aldevron, a contract biomanufacturer of proteins and enzymes, faced exactly this problem in fermentation and purification.
A multidisciplinary team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Aldevron spent five years building decision support tools: optimization links the biological and chemical processes to business risks and financial trade-offs, and interactive scheduling tools allocate scarce equipment.
The optimization framework for purification was implemented in practice at Aldevron, reducing total lead times by 25% and purification costs by 20% on average.
Although developed with Aldevron, the tools address common industry challenges and were shared with the wider biomanufacturing community through working group sessions.
why it works
- Modeling uncertainty, not averages, matched the real process.
- Linking biology to financial trade-offs made the math actionable.
- Scheduling tools squeezed value from expensive shared equipment.
- Industry sharing multiplied the value beyond one company.
what transfers
In processes with heavy variability, put the uncertainty inside the optimization model instead of planning on averages; the same toolkit transfers across the industry.
what came after
The work appeared in Interfaces (2019) and in Operations Research (2018), where the 25%/20% results were reported; it helped Aldevron grow as a leading contract biomanufacturer and set an example for data-driven decision support in bioprocessing.
references
- Aldevron Accelerates Growth Using Operations Research in Biomanufacturing
- Performance Guarantees and Optimal Purification Decisions for Engineered Proteins
- Aldevron Accelerates Growth Using Operations Research in Biomanufacturing
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.