Collaborative research project formed between 3M and UCL

3M has announced that it has commissioned experts from the University College London (UCL) to conduct in-depth research evaluating how its Emphaze AEX Hybrid Purifier may be used in the biotech industry to improve continuous processing.

The research collaboration is already underway at the Department of Biochemical Engineering and will run for six months. Results from this work will be published in a white paper, to be submitted to academic journals next year.

This project will focus on quantifying the value of the purifying cell culture fluid with the company’s Emphaze AEX Hybrid Purifier (a single-use product platform that uses anion exchange chromatographic functionality) prior to the continuous chromatography operation. With this is mind it is hoped that the time required for non-loading steps may be decrease through the reduction of soluble impurities upstream of capture chromatography. The research performed by UCL will provide independent, quantitative data on this hypothesis.

“Continuous processing is an exciting and major trend in the industry, and has been for several years now,” said Dr Hani El-Sabbahy, a 3M biopharmaceutical application engineering specialist. “We believe the 3M Emphaze AEX Hybrid Purifier can support continuous processing by reducing cost and enhancing productivity. We look forward to seeing the results of this study, which will supplement our existing and ongoing research.”

“Monoclonal antibodies are a remarkable pharmaceutical industry success story, delivering, for example, cancer and rheumatoid arthritis therapies,” added the project leader, Daniel Bracewell, professor of Bioprocess Analysis at UCL Biochemical Engineering. “As such, this research project has the potential to deliver some truly exciting results, as it will test the capacity of 3M’s Emphaze AEX Hybrid Purifier to enable the adoption of continuous manufacturing, which could significantly reduce costs for this product class.”