This first joint product from their partnership to create faster, sensitive, more robust tests for detecting contaminants in pharmaceutical and biotech production processes is the latest addition to Millipore's processing portfolio. The speed of the so-called MilliPROBE test is emphasised as it allows manufacturers to take corrective action earlier in the production process, which both reduces risks later on and improves the quality of the final product. "For the first time, [scientists] have a viable alternative to culture-based tests that can take several days to generate results," said Martin Madaus, CEO of Millipore. The system combines Millipore's sample preparation methods with Gen-Probe's nucleic acid technologies in one microbial screening tool. It uses real-time Transcription Mediated Amplification (TMA) technology to detect microbial contamination within hours rather than the days or weeks needed when using the traditional cell-culture tests. "We are excited about the progress we have made in our collaboration with Gen-Probe and we look forward to developing additional assays using the MilliProbe system over the next few years," added Madaus. This first assay targets the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can be found in purified water used during drug production. The two companies intend to add several new assays for different contaminants over the coming years. "We believe there is a bright future for this new generation of rapid, real-time TMA-based screening tools," said Hank Nordhoff, CEO of Gen-Probe.
