Spinnovation launches NMR-based media analysis service
The service – known as Spedia-Predict – uses nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to analyse development-scale bioproduction medias to identify process-critical analytes that can be used to manage culture consistency in the production environment.
Spinnovation spokeswoman Natalie Som told this website the key advantage of Spedia-Predict over traditional analysis methods is the shorter preparation time required, which means the results can be generated more rapidly.
“It is a solution we provide that could be applied to defined and even non-defined media. It enables to troubleshoot performance variation and we can build a model to predict performance in a fast fashion couple of days.”
She added that the contract research organisation (CRO) plans to offer the service to both the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry and the culture media developers which serve that sector.
Som is attending the Bioprocess International European meeting in Prague, Czech Republic this week and was - understandably - unable to provide more specific details of the capacity of the Spedia-Predict service at the time of publication.
However, previously released data indicate that Spinnovation’s Spedia NMR method can monitor more than 50 analytes simultaneously and that the firm can process around 100 samples per day, with typical limits of detection and quantification being in the 1 – 10µM and 50-100µM range, respectively.
Growing demand
The Spedia-Predict launch comes at the end of a year of growth for Spinnovation Biologics – which is a division of Spinnovation Analytics BV.
In February the firm reported that it tripled its customer base over the previous 12-months, largely as a result of demand for its Spedia-NMR spent media analysis service.
Growth over the period was also instrumental in Spinnovation’s entry into the US market – which took place in January through the formation of its partnership with Pennsylvania-based Quantum Tessera.
At the time the firm’s head of NMR Frederic Girard said "The new presence in the US has enabled us to take advantage of the expanding interest in bioprocess technologies to support the manufacture of biologics. We are gaining momentum with new companies in new markets, and are very excited to see what the future holds."