Smart Biotech Scientist | The CMC and Bioprocessing Podcast for Process Development and Manufacturing Leaders
The go-to CMC and biomanufacturing podcast for bioprocess development scientists and CMC leaders scaling biologics into regulatory-ready therapies with less trial and error.
Practical, execution-focused, and strategic guidance on CMC development, tech transfer, scale-up, GMP readiness, CDMO partnerships, and manufacturing economics for biologics, cell and gene therapies, cultivated meat, and biomaterials.
Hosted by Dr. David Brühlmann, CMC strategist, former Bioprocess Innovation Manager at Merck, PhD in glycoengineering, and close to 20 years of biomanufacturing experience. Smart Biotech Scientist delivers actionable insights for the people doing the hard work of turning promising molecules into scalable, regulatory-ready therapies.
This podcast is for you if:
- You are a process development scientist or CMC lead managing a technology transfer, scale-up, or CDMO partnership
- You are a biologics developer working on upstream or downstream process development, cell culture optimization, or GMP manufacturing readiness
- You are a biotech founder preparing for an IND filing or Series A fundraise, and need a CMC strategy that holds up under investor and regulatory scrutiny
- You are building or advising an early-stage biopharma team and need to make smart manufacturing decisions with limited resources
What you will learn:
CMC strategy and regulatory planning, bioprocess scale-up from lab to clinical and commercial manufacturing, cell culture process development and media optimization, technology transfer best practices, CDMO selection and partnership management, hybrid modeling, manufacturing economics, continuous manufacturing, digitization, and Industry 4.0 in biopharma.
Top 10 life sciences podcast with 200+ episodes and guests from Merck, FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific, Cytiva, KBI Biopharma, Eppendorf, and biotech innovators worldwide.
New episodes released weekly. Subscribe and join 400+ biotech leaders already using these insights to accelerate development, reduce manufacturing costs, and de-risk scale-up.
Next Steps:
Visit the Website: https://smartbiotechscientist.com
Email us: hello@bruehlmann-consulting.com
Smart Biotech Scientist | The CMC and Bioprocessing Podcast for Process Development and Manufacturing Leaders
202: Fighting Antimicrobial Resistance: How AI Cuts Phage Therapy Access from 6 Months to 5 Days with José Bila - Part 2
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What if the answer to battling antibiotic-resistant infections isn’t a new antibiotic, but harnessing viruses that have been quietly dominating bacterial populations?
Bacteriophages, viruses that target and kill bacteria, have been saving lives for a century, but their true potential is only now being unlocked by modern machine learning. The race isn’t just about discovering effective phages; it’s about deploying the right therapy, personalized to the patient, before time runs out.
On this episode, David Brühlmann welcomes José Luis Bila, Co-Founder and CEO of Precise Health. Driven by personal tragedy and an engineer’s mindset, José is shaping a future where AI-powered phage therapy isn’t a niche solution, but a scalable, accessible weapon against the superbugs that evade antibiotics. From building bioreactor capacity to navigating regulatory gray zones, José brings a rare blend of technical vision and practical urgency to a problem that affects families and health systems worldwide.
Key topics discussed:
- The challenge of evolving bacteria and phages, and the question of whether it’s possible to keep up with nature’s pace through engineering new phages in silico (00:00)
- Overview of bacteriophage production: complexity, types of bioreactors used, and comparison with chemical synthesis (02:54)
- Bioproduction logistics: using CDMOs vs. in-house hospital production and the real-world timescales for manufacturing (02:32)
- Barriers for smaller or less funded hospitals, especially in low- and middle-income countries, with thoughts on hospital infrastructure differences worldwide (04:41)
- Creative solutions for cost-effective phage production in remote and underserved regions, such as the potential for single-use or mobile bioreactors (06:01)
- Why downstream processing and ensuring product purity is a bottleneck; the need for miniaturization and economic scalability (06:40)
- Parallels and differences in downstream processing between bacteriophages and viral vectors (09:15)
- The vital role of stability and shelf life for phage therapy logistics and economic viability (09:15)
- Regulatory pathways for phage therapy in Europe and beyond, including magistral preparations, ethical approvals, and adapting to digital tools for selection (12:39)
- The future vision: routine clinic entry through matching existing phage libraries, with longer-term goals of engineering bespoke phages via AI when necessary (15:52)
- José’s perspective on building global infrastructure and making phage therapy cost-effective and universally accessible (18:08)
José Bila’s message: solutions to antimicrobial resistance are within reach. The biotech community must build accessible infrastructure, using AI and innovative systems to ensure phage therapy benefits reach every patient, everywhere.
Connect with José Luis Bila:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/josé-luis-bila-phd-3b08a5a7
Precise Health SA: www.precisehealth.io
Interested in how scientists are fighting superbugs? Learn how phage therapy and smart bioprocess design are helping outmaneuver drug-resistant pathogens. Check out this interview with one of our previous guests!
Episodes 187-188: From Biology Is Messy to Designable: The Smart Bioprocessing Transformation with Carmen Jungo Rhême
Next step:
Book a 20-minute call to help you get started on any questions you may have about bioprocessing analytics: https://bruehlmann-consulting.com/call
One bad CDMO decision can cost you two years and your Series A. If you're navigating tech transfer, CDMO selection, or IND prep, let's talk before it gets expensive. Two slots open this month.