Designed by cell culture scientists and engineers, the bench-top sized unit features PBS’s patented Air-Wheel mixing system, a proprietary auto sampler, and a user-friendly control interface.
The unit also boasts a disposable vessel constructed of current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) approved United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Class VI plastic.
“Our PBS 3 is the first in our family of products,” said Brian Lee, co-founder and president of PBS Biotech.
“The bioreactors’ innovative, ease-of-use, and compact design will provide unique benefits and value to customers who want to gain operational efficiency and flexibility for reduced development cost and time.”
The company claims that, unlike other bioreactors, the PBS 3’s combination of fast mixing, high oxygen transfer rates and low shear stress enables the cultivation of a wide range of plant, animal and insect cells, as well as increasing the potential for the development of new monoclonal antibodies and stem cells for personal medicine.
Installed in minutes
PBS said its PBS 3 reactor is one-third the size and weight of its competitors, and can be installed in a matter of minutes by a single operator. In addition, the unit can be securely monitored or controlled using the inbuilt touch screen, or remotely by computer or smartphone over a secure internet connection.
James Schultz, vice president of sales and marketing for the company, said its new reactor may prove a perfect solution for companies new to the biosimilars market.
“The PBS 3 single-use bioreactor leads the way for scientists to upgrade existing equipment by adopting an entry level platform that is fully scalable from lab to production stages,” he said.
“We are particularly encouraged by the value proposition that we deliver for global biosimilar companies entering the market.”
Pre-launch trials
According to PBS, Pre-launch trials and evaluations of the new reactor are set to take place in numerous biotech and academic research organisations across Europe, Asia and North America in the near future.
PBS said it intends to launch a full range of larger, fully scalable bioreactors up to commercial scale production size, over the next few months.