Susan D'Costa talks with Dr. David Schaefer about what gene therapy manufacturing has truly improved and where AAV vector production still breaks at scale. They connect capsid engineering, QC-friendly analytics, AI-driven directed evolution, and today’s global biotech competition into one practical view of clinical translation.

Listen in for:
• why viral vector production strains cell viability and limits throughput
• how AAV manufacturing evolved from roller bottles and ultracentrifugation to suspension bioreactors and chromatography
• how to reduce bespoke downstream work by selecting for manufacturability early
• which analytical methods become painful in QC and why neutralizing antibody assays are often bespoke
• why local delivery can reduce immune risk and off-target liver exposure
• what China’s growing role means for innovation, deals, and competitiveness

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Host Links
Susan D'Costa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-d-costa-8877063
Genezen: https://www.linkedin.com/company/genezen-laboratories/

Guest Links
David Schaffer: https://chemistry.berkeley.edu/people/david-schaffer

Bioprocessing Unfiltered: Covering both upstream and downstream processing, analytics, AI and digitization, cell and gene therapy and more, Bioprocessing Unfiltered is your insider’s pass to the researchers tackling—and solving—the day-to-day challenges in the bioprocessing industry.