Novasep’s BioSC Pilot – a chromatography and downstream processing skid – is designed to purify biomolecules for early pilot phase to small commercial production.
“Its distinctive characteristic is that these chromatography steps can be combined with intermediate steps such as buffer preparation and viral inactivation by pH adjustment,” a spokesperson told us.
“This multi-step chaining leads to an intensified process with drastically improved performance: shorter processing time, increased yield, reduced footprint, and better product quality and operator safety,” she added.
According to the firm, the BioSC Pilot – which can perform both batch and continuous chromatography – was developed in response to industry demand for a “flexible solution that combines batch and continuous chromatography at pilot scale.”
A partnership with Merck KGaA, based in Germany, ensured the BioSC Pilot was tested and validated to meet market needs, the spokesperson continued: “In parallel, interest for the BioSC Pilot concept was validated with several Novasep customers in the biopharmaceutical industry.”
The BioSC Pilot follows on from the Novasep’s BioSC Lab, which launched three years ago. The technology purified ‘a few grams’ of protein daily – either in continuous, batch, or in parallel batch models, we were told.
“With BioSC Pilot, Novasep is supporting its customers for the scale-up of their purification processes to pilot scale and up to small commercial production,” the spokesperson explained.
Last month, Novasep announced plans to invest €10m ($11.88m) in a commercial fill/finish facility for viral vectors, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), and low-volume biologics, in Seneffe, Belgium.