Company Announcements

IDA Ireland announced in fall 2016 that GE Healthcare will build GE BioPark Cork, a €150 million ($195 million) biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Cork, Ireland. In addition, the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training-GE Single-use Centre of Excellence will be formed to train bioprocessing professionals. 

GE Healthcare Life Sciences announced in fall 2016 the opening of a $7.4 million, 2,200 m² (23,681 ft²) GE Fast Trak Center in Sondo, South Korea, which will provide training, technology evaluation, manufacturing support and consultancy services.

In November 2016, GE Healthcare Life Sciences announced a $7 million expansion of its single-use technology manufacturing facility in Westborough, Massachusetts. It will manufacture a range of products, including cell growth bag, based on a newly developed film platform resulting from GE’s strategic alliance with Sealed Air. The company also announced the establishment of an enlarged extractables and leachables analytical lab in Uppsala, Sweden.

In fall 2016, Pall signed a collaboration agreement with RoosterBio an adult stem cell technology company, to codevelop and market complete solutions for industrial-scale bioreactor expansion of hMSCs.

In January, MilliporeSigma opened two new process development centers near Boston in the US and near Shanghai in China. The centers provide the full range of process development capabilities and services.

In February, INFORS HT opened its 27,000 ft² (2,508 m²) US headquarters in Annapolis Junction, Maryland.

Product Introductions

INFORS HT launched in fall 2016 the eve bioprocess platform software for planning, implementation, control and evaluation of complex experiments. It is tailored for applications in shakers and bioreactors. The core software and the first package, Plan & Control, are available. In January, a second package, “User Management & Reporting” for performing validation processes, was launched.

In fall 2016, INFORS HT introduced the Minifors 2 benchtop bioreactor, featuring two mass flow controllers, four pumps, and digital pH and pO2 sensors. The culture vessel is available in three sizes.

Pall Life Sciences released in fall 2016 the Cadence BioSMB Process system single-use flow path, continuous multi-column chromatography system, designed for use with feedstreams derived from fed batch bioreactions of up to 2,000 L volume.  It can operate with up to eight chromatography columns.

In fall 2016, Finesse Solutions introduced the 15 L vessels for its SmartGlass autoclavable glass bioreactors, which now offers a choice of 1 L, 3 L, 7 L and 15 L total volume.

Finesse Solutions launched in November 2016 the SmartVessel, a single-use 3 L bioreactor vessel, featuring integrated single-use sensors.

In December 2016, Finesse Solutions released the new G3Lite+ SmartController for upstream cell culture and fermentation. It is now available for the Mobius CellReady, Thermo Scientific HyPerforma TK SUB, the GE Xcellerex XRF and the Pall PadReactor single-use vessels.

Resolution Spectra System introduced in November 2016 the ProCellics bioprocess Raman solution for inline monitoring of metabolites and nutrients during upstream processes.

In January, Eppendorf launched the BioFlo 120 benchscale fermentor/bioreactor system for R&D. It features a range of glass and BioBLU Single-Use Vessel options (250 mL–40 L). It features a new Auto Culture mode for push button control.