The demand for pharmaceutical-grade plasmid DNA in vaccine applications and gene therapy has been increasing in recent years. In the present study, a process consisting of alkaline lysis, tangential flow filtration, purification by anion exchange chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography and size exclusion chromatography was developed. The final product met the requirements for pharmaceutical-grade plasmid DNA. The chromosomal DNA content was <1 mu g/mg plasmid DNA, and RNA was not detectable by agarose gel electrophoresis. Moreover, the protein content was <2 mu g/mg plasmid DNA, and the endotoxin content was <10 EU/mg plasmid DNA. The process was scaled up to yield 800 mg of pharmaceutical-grade plasmid DNA from approximately 2 kg of bacterial cell paste. The overall yield of the final plasmid DNA reached 48%. Therefore, we have established a rapid and efficient production process for pharmaceutical-grade plasmid DNA. (C) 2013, The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. All rights reserved.