Robust or bust: What does it take to develop strains that scale?

In our recently published Pichia pastoris case study “Process-Relevant Clone Selection in a Typical Pichia pastoris Strain Development Workflow”, we showed why reliable microscale screening should be complemented by process-relevant confirmation of several promising candidates before final production strain selection.

The broader challenge goes one step further: How can strain and process development be designed from the start to support robust, predictable performance at larger scale?

At the upcoming ESIB 2026, Aid Atlić, Head of Fermentation Process Development at VALIDOGEN, will address exactly this question in his talk:

Robust or bust – developing microbial expression strains and protein production processes that really scale

The presentation, will explore key strategies for developing robust Pichia pastoris expression systems and production processes that maintain productivity and quality beyond laboratory scale. It will also show how integrated strain engineering and data-guided process development can support reproducibility, technology transfer and scalable manufacturing.

From selecting the right production strain to developing a process that performs reliably at scale – robustness needs to be built in early.