GenScript’s technology accelerates protein and antibody purification. The company said that the typical process time could be reduced from days to hours through its instrument.
In a statement, Roumen Bogoev, marketing director of GenScript, said, “Traditional purification instruments operate at a very low speed. Their throughput is limited to the 'one filtered sample at a time' mode of operation, rendering purification a painstakingly slow process.”
The instrument was developed under a licensing agreement with Amgen. According to GenScript, AmMag SA combines the speed and high binding capacity of magnetic beads with high throughput for larger sample volumes.
John Kawooya, director of biologics optimization at Amgen, said, "New ways of purifying proteins are critical to accelerating the drug discovery process – traditional chromatography has simply become too inefficient.”
According to Bogoev, “The AmMag SA platform can process up to 12 samples at a time in about 40 minutes. Most conventional chromatography methods for purification would require several days to accomplish this.”
This technology allows researchers to purify 50 ml samples while still maintaining a low endotoxin environment. Additionally, AmMag SA has a built-in ultra-violet light so it can be sterilized before use.
The instrument is used in combination with AmMag protein A beads – these beads are coated with recombinant protein A, which is resistant to alkaline washes. The beads are the only magnetic beads that can be sterilized by alkaline washes prior to adding to cell culture, making them more stable.
Bogoev said that the system is just the first stage in the development of magnetic beads to improve efficiency and decrease labor during the different stages of the drug development process.