The benefits and disadvantages probably need to be considered for specific situations and may be dependent on the type of single-use bioreactor to be used. However, one of the major advantages relates to the time required for preparation and subsequent decontamination and cleaning of the system. This is particularly the case with small-scale systems like the ambr250. One can compare the cost of the single use bioreactors with the cost of the labour for cleaning vessels, if not single use. There may also be advantages in terms of maintaining GLP and regulations around the product or potential cross-contamination in an environment which produces multiple products (this is also primarily a question about cleaning though). The main disadvantage is often the cost, but the conformation of the single-use vessel and the options available for input of feeds or monitoring also needs to be considered.

Marilyn Wiebe has already mentioned the key benefits of single-use bioreactors, such as faster set-up and turnaround, reduced risk of contamination and lower costs. Added to this can be the issue of process flexibility. Single-use bioreactors, or hybrid systems such as the gentle mixing orbital shaken bioreactors that use single-use bags, are highly adaptable and can be easily scaled up or down to meet production needs. This flexibility is beneficial for facilities that produce multiple products or need to respond quickly to changes in demand.