The Parenteral Drug Association’s Interphex (International Pharmaceutical Expo) show took place April 26–28 in New York City, New York, where it is held every year. The exhibit is dedicated to products for biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Attendance at the show rose 14% this year. Among the instrument companies exhibiting were Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, ChemoMetec, Freeslate, Hamilton, Micromeritics Instrument and Rigaku Raman Technologies.

Not surprisingly, single-use technologies were a major theme at the show. Repligen showcased its new OPUS LC columns. The OPUS are ready-to-use, prepacked, disposable chromatography columns designed to meet the requirements of production-scale bioreactors. The columns are available in sizes ranging from 1.2 cm up to 60 cm in internal diameter and have bed height ranges from 5 cm to 40 cm. The prices across the columns vary widely based on individual design and needs. While Interphex was the first time Repligen showcased the columns at a large event, the columns were on the market several weeks prior to the show.

The Xcellerex Duo from GE Life Sciences is a 2,500 L single-use mixer designed for versatility. The Duo could potentially replace multiple tanks in existing labs and also cut down on waste. Due to its versatility, it can be used in many applications both upstream and downstream. While not on the market yet, the Xcellerex Duo is scheduled to become available within the next few weeks.

Pall unveiled its newly acquired BioSMB continuous chromatography system. The system, which was acquired from Tarpon (see IBO 4/15/15), enables single-use multicolumn chromatography and is well suited to multiproduct and single-use facilities. The disposable flow path features an integrated valve cassette and services up to 16 columns or devices. Although the BioSMB system has been on the market for awhile, Pall believes that integrating it into their established continuous-bioprocessing portfolio will help encourage even more uptake of this technology.

Eppendorf continues its foray into the bioprocess instrument market with the BioFlo 320 bioreactor. The instrument, released earlier this year, was on display front and center at Interphex. The bioreactor is designed with ethernet capability, a minimized footprint, and both autoclavable and single-use vessels. But perhaps the most notable feature is the universal connection for both analog and digital Mettler-Toledo ISM sensors. The BioFlo 320 is one of the first bioprocessing systems to incorporate these “smart probes.” Eppendorf’s exhibit also featured its New Brunswick line of lab products.

Thermo Fisher Scientific unveiled the Thermo Scientific HyPerforma S.U.F. (single-use fermentor) microbial reactor system. Featuring a powerful agitation rate, high gas flow rates and a height-to-width ratio of 3:1, the S.U.F. is a well-rounded newcomer to the microbial-fermentation instrumentation market. Thermo Scientific had both 30 L and 300 L models on display, but the Thermo representatives indicated that they had already heard requests for even larger sizes. The HyPerforma S.U.F.s will become available over the next several weeks.