The firm said its expanded offering will target firms developing treatments for cancer, metabolic disorders or heart diseases – which largely focus on the manufacture of peptides.
Kromasil products are used by the pharmaceutical industry for a range of applications, including industrial-scale purification – for example in the purification process of insulin.
The new Kromasil supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) products will be produced at the firm’s facility in Bohus, Sweden.
According to spokesperson Peter van Boesschoten, the line can help lower production costs.
“SFC uses mainly CO2, which is cheaper as a solvent than organic solvents such as methanol and acetonitrile,” he said.
“For companies with a green approach, this is appreciated; they can get out of using expensive solvents.”
Further, SFC runs are usually shorter than runs on other forms of chromatography, we were told.
“Therefore experiments are carried out faster and results are obtained more rapidly, giving a pharma company the chance to take decisions in shorter time and potentially get to market ahead of their competitors.”
According to van Boesschoten, SCF customers can reduce waste, as the chromatography method uses mostly carbon dioxide.
“The use of CO2, as a component of the mobile phase will evaporate where other solvents will remain in liquid format and will need to be handled as liquid waste.”
In October last year, AkzoNobel announced a facility expansion in Denmark in response to high demand for pharmaceutical grade salt.