Sciex and A*STAR’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute sign multi-year deal
With the aim of advancing biologics research & development in Singapore
Sciex, a US-based supplier of analytical technologies for the life sciences, is to link up with the Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), a research institute under Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) with expertise in bioprocess science and engineering, to advance research and development in biologics in Singapore.
The biologics class of therapeutics, including monoclonal antibodies and antibody drug conjugates, are increasingly being used for the treatment and prevention of human diseases. While they hold great therapeutic benefits, much effort and cost is needed to purify them to eliminate residual components of the host cell system used in manufacturing. These components, or host cell proteins, may result in unpredictable immune responses in patients or compromise the stability of the product.
The collaboration aims to meet the needs of the biopharmaceutical industry in developing accurate and high-throughput methods for analysis of these contaminants, to help the industry validate therapeutic candidates and ensure the safety and effectiveness of biologics according to regulatory guidelines.
Under the agreement, Sciex will provide BTI with instruments and software, and support from a team of application experts to assist with the analysis of complex contaminant protein molecules related to the production and analysis of biologics.
BTI will supply Sciex with data and validation results of methods developed in the course of the collaboration, while profiling the host cell proteins or contaminants using the instruments provided by Sciex.
'As Singapore is a recognised biomedical and biomanufacturing hub in the Asia Pacific, it gives us pride and honour to form this collaboration with an institute such as BTI which is spearheading innovative research in a very exciting and fast growing field like biologics. Ultimately, by sharing our expertise and highly qualified resources, our analytical tools and solutions, and collaborating with BTI researchers, new methods and analyses will be developed in the quest to find treatments to new diseases, that will effectively improve people’s lives,' said Jean-Paul Mangeolle, President of Sciex.