Fermentation is an upstream bioprocessing technique in which microorganisms — such as bacteria (E. coli), yeast (Pichia pastoris, Saccharomyces cerevisiae), or fungi — are cultivated in controlled bioreactor conditions to produce recombinant proteins, enzymes, plasmid DNA (pDNA), and other biological molecules. Compared to mammalian cell culture, fermentation offers advantages in terms of growth rate, scalability, and cost-efficiency, making it a widely used platform in biopharmaceutical manufacturing for the production of biologics, vaccines, and gene therapy starting materials.
