Sartorius Stedim wins Frost & Sullivan innovation award
In recognition of its single-use bioreactor technology
France-based Sartorius Stedim has been awarded the Frost & Sullivan 2011 EU Technology Innovation Award in Bioprocessing in recognition of being the only company headquartered in Europe able to offer innovative solutions to the modern biotechnology industry, including single-use bioreactor systems.
Sartorius Stedim, headquartered in Aubagne, manufactures single-use bioreactors at various scales ranging from 1–2 litre systems up to 300L, while 500L, 1000L and 2000L systems are in the pipeline. Each is available as a standard or custom solution to suit client requirements.
‘Even though the majority of single use bioreactor systems are geared towards the production of high value active pharmaceutical molecules, the system can also be used for other application areas, such as biologically derived petrochemicals,’ said Frost & Sullivan research analyst Krishna Venkataramani.
In addition to pharmaceutical and petrochemical applications, a single-use bioreactor can be used in food-based and generic microbial fermentative processes.
While most companies sell single-use reactors in a single type of agitation technology, Sartorius Stedim has a variety of technologies, which can be used according to the need of the application.
‘For instance, for mammalian cell lines which require low shear, wave mixing is suitable, while for less shear-sensitive mammalian cell lines or for fermentation with microbes, an impeller based mixing is most suitable,’ said Venkataramani.
Fermentation is one way to produce long chain carbon molecules (C6-C7). Such molecules are best suited as precursors for fuels and plastics and allied derivatives.
“Single use bioreactors are key in the scale-up of such reactions,” added Venkataramani. “They play a major role in cost cutting and ensuring sterility during the scale-up stages.”
Implementing Sartorius Stedim single-use bioreactors also offers monetary benefits related to reduced scale-up and certification costs, in addition to support through service and maintenance contracts.
The EU Technology Innovation Award is presented to the company that has excelled in the following criteria: uniqueness of technology, impact on new products/applications, impact on functionality, impact on customer value and relevance of innovation to industry.
