In terms of what has changed compared to previous Sartolab models, Sartorius outlined that there has been an increase in the membrane surface area to improve filtration and the introduction of a 0.45 µm polyethersulfone membrane, which replaces the 0.45 µm cellulose acetate membrane previously used. The latter change will increase the flow rate while maintaining low protein binding properties.
While there has also been an adjustment to the centre of gravity of the unit to improve stability and the ability for the units’ direct use with the Sartolab Multistation for parallel filtration.
The company stated that improvements made to manufacturing controls would also lead to an ‘increased robustness’ of supply, which would help meet the growing demand for filtration products.
The filtration units are designed for research purposes at smaller volumes, specifically from 50mL to 1L – though the Sartolab BT design includes only a bottle top filter, which allows users to utilise their own receiver flasks. This could enable users to expand filtration capacity by filling more than one receiver flask, depending on the particle load of the filtered liquid.
The vacuum filtration units are available in three different pore sizes, with 0.1 µm for mycoplasma removal, 0.22 µm for sterile filtration of cell culture media, buffers, and reagents, and 0.45 µm for clarification of aqueous and viscous solutions.
As an added detail, Sartorius noted that the improved filtration units can be distributed with a carbon footprint 99% lower than previously, due to improved efficiency of logistics during manufacture and improved storage processes.
Investments increasing
The launch of the new filtration units comes during a particularly busy period for the overall Sartorius business, which saw the company able to post positive financial results for the first nine months of the year.
In the financials, the company noted that order intake was up 72.3%, sales revenue up 53.9%, and it had an underlying EBITDA margin of 34.3%.
Sartorius results here are similar to rivals in the area, with Merck KGaA raising its financial outlook for the year based upon order intake increasing within its process solutions division, leading to the company investing in its single-use assembles and filtration offerings.
For Sartorius, within its Lab Products & Services Division, sales were reported to have grown by 40.8% compared to Q3 in 2020.
Earlier this year, this allowed Sartorius to unveil new investment in a 130,000-square-foot facility in the US, with further plans to invest a total of approximately €400m ($468m) by the year’s end to build out its global capacity.
According to the company, this is due to ‘unabated high demand’ for the technologies used in the development and production of biopharmaceuticals.