Upstream & Downstream Processing

Thermo Fisher doubling single-use capacity through $100m Nashville plant

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Thermo Fisher will hire 1,400 staff at the facility in Nashville, Tennessee, which is expected to feed biomanufacturing’s continued demand for single-use technologies. Bioprocess vendor Thermo Fisher Scientific unveiled plans yesterday to bolster its manufacturing network for single-use technology (SUT) products through the construction of a facility in Wilson County, Tennessee. “The new site will be Thermo Fisher’s largest designated SUT manufacturing facility and will help more than double Thermo Fisher’s network manufacturing capacity to support its biopharma customers,†a…

September 9, 2021

Avantor upping its single-use game in $2.9bn Masterflex buy

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Avantor is set to acquire Masterflex, a manufacturer of peristaltic pumps and aseptic single-use fluid transfer tech used in upstream, downstream and fill-finish services. The deal, announced yesterday, “strengthens Avantor’s offering across all bioproduction platforms including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), cell and gene therapy and mRNA, and supports both therapy and vaccine manufacturing including COVID-19,†the firm said in a statement. The $2.9 billion transaction ($2.7 billion after tax benefits) will add Vernon Hills, Illinois-headquartered tech firm Masterflex to the biopharma…

September 8, 2021

PBS to expand single-use bioreactor tech to feed cell therapy demand

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Single-use bioreactor maker PBS Biotech has closed a private $10 million funding round with BroadOak Capital Partners to advance its Vertical-Wheel technology. The funding will be used to expand PBS’ internal operations and capacity, the firm told Bioprocess Insider, to meet the demand and need for its biomanufacturing customers, specifically for cell therapies. Such “investment in manufacturing, engineering and contract services capabilities is required to maintain our rapid growth trajectory in the cell therapy market, we were told. The California-headquartered…

August 27, 2021

Zymeworks on how to keep immune system at bay when developing bispecifics

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BioProcess Insider sat down figuratively with Zymeworks’ chief scientific officer Tony Polverino to talk all things antibody and their solution to challenges that surround bispecific antibody-based cancer therapies.   BioProcess Insider (BI): What are the challenges that surround bispecific antibody-based cancer therapies?  Tony Polverino (TP): I think that the challenges fall into a number of different areas, one being manufacturing, as the ability to bring two different molecules together, or two different binding arms together into the same molecule presents a challenge from an expression and a manufacturing perspective. BI: How have you overcome these issues? …

August 23, 2021

UK group says 3D printed automated control tech can cut mAb production costs

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Automation provides a path to cheaper, faster monoclonal antibody (mAb) production says the UK consortium, which is using 3D printing to develop a tech-independent biomanufacturing control system. The consortium – which includes BiologIC Technologies, Biopharm Services, the UK Center for Process Innovation (CPI), Pall and SCIEX – announced the pact in July, explaining the plan is to develop a prototype strategy and overlay it onto an existing, small scale mAb line. BiologIC Technologies’ role is to use its 3D printing technology to develop…

August 23, 2021

Polyplus reagent aims to ease CGT manufacturing issues

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Polyplus has added a reagent to its existing product line developed specifically to enable large-scale viral vector manufacturing. The French-biotech said the reagent has been developed to complement its existing FectoVir-AAV reagent line. “FectoVIR-AAV is a transfection reagent, hence a key component of upstream manufacturing of viral vectors used for gene therapy,†a spokesperson for Polyplus told BioProcess Insider. “FectoVIR-AAV transports plasmid DNA across the cell membrane. In gene therapy viral vector manufacturing, three plasmids are transfected at the same time…

August 18, 2021

Merck KGaA highlights MilliporeSigma as ‘star performer’ in Q2

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After another record quarter, Germany’s Merck expects a COVID-19 windfall of €1 billion in 2021, the bulk of which coming from its Process Solutions unit. The German biopharma giant reported double-digit growth across all its segments in the second quarter 2021, but highlighted significant contributions from its ‘Big 3’: its Healthcare pipeline, Process Solutions, and Semiconductor Solutions units. The Process Solutions business, which falls under its Life Science business MilliporeSigma and offers biopharmaceutical products and services, pulled in €1.15 billion…

August 11, 2021

Advanced Instruments buying cell line dev tech firm Solentim

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Advanced Instruments will add antibody and cell-based therapy workflow tech through the acquisition of Solentim. “The coming together of Advanced Instruments’ and Solentim’s core technologies, will be a powerful combination in support of clonal cell line development,†Byron Selman, CEO of Advanced Instruments, said. “With Solentim, we are acquiring innovative technologies that will enhance our ability to support customers in these workflows. We are also adding to our technical capabilities with the addition of imaging, advanced AI capabilities and automation…

August 9, 2021

MilliporeSigma: ‘Viral vectors will dominate the next decade’

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Conversations like this usually happen on the floor of exhibition centers. But with face-to-face events remaining in limbo, BioProcess Insider spoke virtually with MilliporeSigma’s head of cell and gene therapies Jerry Keybl about the future of viral vectors.   Keybl has been looking after the business for over four years and is focused on driving industrialization to make sure that MilliporeSigma has the solution from a product and service prospective. Bioprocess Insider (BI): What are the complexities of manufacturing viral…

August 9, 2021

Thermo: Cell & gene therapy key to further growth in 2021

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Thermo Fisher Scientific says cell and gene therapy contracting, PPD and ongoing CAPEX investments will drive growth. The tech and services firm outlined its plans during a Q2 call, explaining its belief that the cell and gene therapy sector prompted its recent investment in a manufacturing center at the University of California San Francisco. CEO Mark Casper predicted the partnership would “will lead to new capabilities for our customers and ultimately better outcomes for patients.†He added a desire to…

August 5, 2021