Inha University researchers reported an engineered protein-breakdown strategy that improves drug-free selection of high-producing CHO cells. The approach targets a manufacturing bottleneck: identifying rare, top-expressing clones among millions without relying on traditional selection drugs. The work frames the selection step as a leverage point for shortening development timelines and reducing process complexity, while maintaining output quality. For CDMO and pharma manufacturing stakeholders, improvements that reduce dependence on drugs for selection can lower both operating costs and downstream regulatory friction. With CHO cell lines remaining the core production workhorse for antibodies and many biologics, selection and clone development workflows are increasingly treated as differentiators—not back-office steps.