Mannitol/sucrose formulations are employed to generate lyophilizates for biopharmaceuticals with an elegant cake appearance. The aim of this study was to dry protein/mannitol/sucrose formulations as fast as possible without loss of cake appearance and protein stability. Glycerol was included as potential additional protein stabilizer. Three proteins (lysozyme and two monoclonal antibodies) at low and high concentration were analyzed comparing fast with conservative freeze-drying.