Dr. Joe Pekny & Spark Therapeutics Discuss the Economic Value of Digital Twin Technology

APCI co-founder and CEO Dr. Joseph Pekny partnered with our colleague Chris Stevens from Spark Therapeutics to deliver a keynote address discussing the economic benefit of digital twin technology and its application in optimizing the layout for new manufacturing facilities.

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After delivering an engaging keynote address on smart manufacturing at the BioProcess International East Conference in the fall of 2023, our co-founder and CEO Dr. Joe Pekny was invited back to speak again at the BPI West Conference in March 2024. This time, Dr. Pekny joined our colleague Chris Stevens, Executive Vice President and Chief Patient Supply Officer for Spark Therapeutics, to present about the economic value of using a digital twin for biologics manufacturing processes.

Dr. Pekny began the presentation discussing how a digital twin uses a virtual model of a manufacturing plant to debottleneck, choose the best process improvements, find the best facility fit, and optimize schedules to maximize the number of product batches made each day. Those capabilities can have a huge impact on real-world applications, Dr. Pekny says, as the digital twin reduces the variability that tends to limit plants’ production output.

Chris Stevens continues the presentation by explaining how the VirtECS digital twin functions in practice at Spark Therapeutics’ biologics facilities. Spark is currently building a new flagship facility in Philadelphia that needs to be as flexible as possible to respond to evolutions in their work with gene therapies. The accurate representation of the site modeled in the VirtECS digital twin helps them achieve their needed flexibility. “We’ve embarked on this journey of having a digital twin,” said Chris, “and it’s paying off for us in the way that, as our portfolio evolves, we can quickly evaluate its impact.”