Nongyu Huang, Yuquan Wei, Jiong Li
As technology and regulatory guidelines continue improve, insect cell expression system has gained increasing attention as promising and versatile platforms for production of biopharmaceuticals. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in this platform, with a focus on their applications in human and veterinary vaccines, therapeutic proteins, and structurally complex proteins for biomedical research. Special emphasis is placed on emerging strategies such as larval expression systems, baculovirus-mediated antigen displaying technologies, and the development of gene therapy vectors. Despite their growing utility, insect cell systems face critical technical bottlenecks that limit scalability, productivity, and regulatory compliance. We discuss recent innovations aimed at addressing these challenges, including improvements in baculovirus infection dynamics, the genome engineering, and bioprocess optimization at both upstream and downstream levels. By synthesizing current knowledge and technological trends, this review outlines future directions for unlocking the full potential of insect cell platforms in next generation biomanufacturing.