Master Thesis Project: Protein Production

At BioArctic, we combine scientific curiosity with a commitment to developing new treatments for diseases with large unmet needs

such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and ALS. As an innovative Swedish biopharma company, we offer you the opportunity

to conduct your Master Thesis project in a research environment where science has a clear purpose.

BioArctic is offering a Master Thesis project focusing on the development and optimization of a scalable transient CHO cell

transfection platform for recombinant antibody production.

Recombinant antibodies are an important class of therapeutic molecules, and increasingly complex antibody formats create new

challenges for efficient and reproducible protein production. A robust expression platform that can be applied across different

antibody formats and production scales is therefore an important part of antibody discovery and development.

The aim of this Master Thesis project is to develop and establish a robust and scalable transient CHO cell transfection workflow,

covering culture volumes from small-scale screening in multi-well plates to 2–5 L production scale.

What you will do

During the project, you will work hands-on with mammalian cell culture, transient transfection and antibody production. You will

optimize key parameters affecting protein expression, and evaluate how well the process translates across different culture

scales.

Depending on the scope and duration of the thesis, the project may also include Design of Experiments (DoE) approaches and

optimization of antibody chain ratios.

The overall goal is to establish a standardized, robust and scalable transfection protocol that can support antibody production

from early small-scale screening to larger-scale protein production.

We are looking for a motivated Master’s student with a strong interest in biotechnology, protein science and biopharmaceutical

research.

You are currently studying a Master’s program in Biotechnology, Molecular biotechnology, Biochemistry, Biomedicine, Chemical

engineering or bioprocessing, Protein or antibody engineering, or a related life-science discipline.

Prior experience of laboratory work is highly valued. Hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture, recombinant protein

expression, protein purification or protein characterization is advantageous but not required.

We value a student who is curious, eager to learn and comfortable working experimentally in the laboratory. You take

responsibility for your work and have a structured and careful approach to experimental work and documentation. You should enjoy

solving problems, interpreting experimental results and working both independently and together with experienced scientists.

The project is suitable for a Master Thesis or equivalent degree project of at least 30 ECTS credits, corresponding to one

academic semester or longer, depending on the requirements of the university program. The preferred start date for the project is

18 January 2027.

The thesis work will be conducted out at BioArctic in Stockholm, where you will work closely with scientists experienced in

protein expression, antibody engineering and protein characterization.

BioArctic AB (publ) is a Swedish research-based biopharma company focusing on innovative treatments that can delay or stop the

progression of neurodegenerative diseases. The company invented Leqembi® (lecanemab) – the world's first drug proven to slow the

progression of the disease and reduce cognitive impairment in early Alzheimer's disease. Leqembi has been developed together with

BioArctic’s partner Eisai, who are responsible for regulatory interactions and commercialization globally. In addition to Leqembi,

BioArctic has a broad research portfolio with antibodies against Parkinson's disease and ALS as well as additional projects

against Alzheimer's disease. Several of the projects utilize the company's proprietary BrainTransporter™ technology, which has the

potential to actively transport therapies across the blood-brain barrier to enhance the efficacy of the treatment. BioArctic's B

share (BIOA B) is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm Large Cap. BioArctic’s head office is located in Stockholm Sweden, and the company

has more than 150 employees. For further information, please visit www.bioarctic.com.

As a Master Thesis student, you will have the opportunity to work in an industrial research environment and gain hands-on

experience with technologies and workflows relevant to modern antibody discovery and biopharmaceutical development.