Bio-Rad launches all-in-one chromatography system

Published: 30-Mar-2011

For small-scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing


Bio-Rad Laboratories’ new automated chromatography station and its InPlace control console performs all process operations within a single unit, optimising cleanroom space and processing time.

The chromatography station includes Bio-Rad’s Process Skid 00, claimed to be the industry’s first compact skid for small-scale GMP biopharmaceutical manufacturing, and incorporates one of Bio-Rad’s process chromatography columns and the new PrepStation, which enables media transfer and column lifting.

Process engineers can simplify column preparation from slurry transfer to unpacking and cleaning by choosing either preprogrammed or manual methods for all functions of the process chromatography column and Process Skid 00. They can now automate these processes with reproducible and traceable results.

‘Prior to the integrated design of the chromatography station, users purchased chromatography systems, columns, and packing accessories in separate units,’ said Emily Dale, marketing manager of Bio-Rad’s Process Chromatography Division. ‘Such standalone systems took up valuable cleanroom space, leaving biopharmaceutical manufacturers with limited options for small-scale production.

‘The chromatography station addresses these issues, providing users with the same feature functionality as Bio-Rad’s Process Chromatography Skid 01 through 05 in a compact, affordable design.’

The chromatography station is interchangeable with multiple columns from 10 to 30cm in diameter and flow rates from 5 to 120L/hr. It can be controlled from outside the cleanroom using a wireless industrial tablet PC for added convenience and flexibility.

The InPlace control console provides the same automation features as the chromatography station for standalone InPlace process chromatography columns from 18cm to 2m in diameter using conventional skids and media transfer.

The unit simplifies column operations using preprogrammed methods for column filling, bed consolidation, unpacking, and cleaning. It also ensures precise packing, speed, and bed-height adjustment at each step.

US-based Bio-Rad Laboratories manufactures and distributes products for the life science research and clinical diagnostic markets. Headquartered in Hercules, California, the company employs more than 6,800 people globally and had revenues exceeding US$1.9bn in 2010.

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