The 50 ml disposable columns, which are based on Upfront’s Rhobust expanded bed absorption (EBA) platform, are designed to improve the purification of therapeutic antibodies, specifically by eliminating the pre-filtration steps that are usually required.
Allan Lihme, Upfront’s technical director, commented that: “The flexibility offered by the new disposable columns will be a major benefit for multi-product facilities such as [contract manufacturing organisations] CMOs and pharma pilot plants.”
During pilot scale development, ensuring optimum product yield can be vital in helping drugmakers to shorten time lines and reduce costs. As a result any technology that cuts the processing steps required during such operations is likely to be welcomed by the industry.
In addition, CMOs are likely to embrace disposable separation technologies as doing so will allow for faster production line turn around, increased flexibility and improved production capacity utilisation. The ability to react in this way may well be the dividing line between companies that are successful in the competitive contracting sector and those that are not.
Lihme also said that the Rhobust system’s proven capacity to process crude feedstock will improve the efficiency of the purification process, result in higher yields and ultimately reduce bio-manufacturing costs.
Upfront will also launch additional Rhobust products before the end of the year, including disposable columns with Protein A adsorbents and a 2-pump version of MabDirect MM Fixed-D.