Under the deal, financial terms of which were not disclosed, Sudpack will make plastic film materials for the production of SSB’s line of single-use cell cultivation bags and systems.
The firms will also collaborate on the development of novel film technologies for application in bioreactors, the first of which is expected to reach the market this time next year.
The partnership is a good fit according to Oscar-Werner Reif, EVP of R&D at France-headquartered Sartorius, who explained that: “We have gained an excellent partner for the development and manufacture of complex multi-layer films that we process in the production of our single-use bags.
“By supplying innovative single-use products, we are striving to continue offering our customers real added value in the future as well.
Johannes Remmele, Managing Director of Sudpack, agreed, suggesting the partnership is an important step into new markets for his company.
“We are proud that Sartorius Stedim Biotech, one of the market leaders in the biotechnology industry, has selected us as a partner to jointly develop innovative film laminates.
“This also tells me that we are on the right track with our strategy of continuously investing in new technologies and developments.”
Single-use bioreactors are an increasingly important part of Sartorius business, which last month launched UniVessel SU, a single-use, stirred tank reactor that has a two litre working volume.
At the time Andre Grebe, company head of product management multi-use bioreactors, told in-Pharmatechnologist.com that “Demand is very healthy, mainly for process development in the biopharmaceutical space.”
He explained that fully-disposable systems like UniVessel meet industry demands for technologies that allow the maximum number of experiments to be conducted at the lowest operational and maintenance cost.