Process for the in-vitro biosynthesis of hormones, especially insulin

Claim 1

Process for the in-vitro biosynthesis of a hormone comprising the steps of (a) introducing (i) cells from organs or tissues of animal or human origin into one or more cell culture spaces and (ii) culture medium separately into one or more culture medium spaces, each cell culture space having a flat top and flat bottom, each culture medium space having a flat top and a flat bottom, when more than one culture medium space and more than one cell culture space are used, the culture medium spaces are in alternating relationship to the cell culture spaces, the culture medium spaces are adjacent to the cell culture spaces, and a culture medium space is located on top of each cell culture space, when one culture medium space and one cell culture space are present, the culture medium space is located adjacent to and on top of the cell culture space, and each culture medium space is separated from each adjacent cell culture space or spaces by a semi-permeable flat membrane which is permeable to liquid and is impermeable to cells, (b) propogating or cultivating in vitro the cells under suitable cell growth or cell cultivation conditions, respectively, whereby the cells in vitro biosynthesize the hormone, and (c) isolating the resultant hormone from the culture medium and/or by processing the cells after removing the cells from the cell culture space.