The system accommodates volumes ranging from 20L to 1,000L and is portable at all sizes. ATMI also highlighted the system’s swifter set-up times, with installation taking “well under an hour”, and minimal facility requirements compared to stationary, stainless steel systems.
These traits translate into economic benefits and are realised while retaining features associated with larger, stationary units. The unit uses ATMI’s PadMixer which has a moving sparger that enhances gas exchange and vertices of the square tank to achieve low shear mixing.
ATMI claims these attributes, combined with the system’s scalability, make it ideal for producing vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and other secreted proteins.
Jeff Craig, ATMI LifeSciences’ global director of marketing and business development, added that when clients “use the system they talk about its higher cell densities in suspension, higher cell viability on microcarriers and better overall yields than other single-use bioreactors”.
Furthermore, ATMI has published the system’s interface standards, enabling it to be paired with any controller technology. This allows users to implement the system with their existing or preferred control systems, making installation more economic and efficient.
Pricing for versions without a controller begins at under $30,000 (€22,400). Customers can also order the system equipped with the controller technology of their choice, with prices varying depending on the chosen configuration.
2010 Q1 results
ATMI, which serves both the life sciences and semiconductor industries, reported revenues of $85.3m in the first quarter of 2010, compared to $37.4m in the corresponding period of last year.
This figure includes revenues from the life sciences and semiconductor businesses, and a breakdown was not included in the release, but the words of Tim Carlson, chief financial officer of ATMI give an indication of sector performance.
Carlson said: "We believe our revenues during the quarter grew at a rate greater than the overall market, due to strength in our life sciences products and evidence of some localized SDS inventory stocking."