The partnership will develop advanced analytical solutions and deliver training to address the current requirements of the biopharmaceutical industry
Thermo Fisher Scientific headquarters in Waltham. (Credit: Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.)
Thermo Fisher Scientific and the Biopharmaceutical Analysis Training Laboratory (BATL) at Northeastern University have partnered to advance analytical solutions and training in the biopharmaceutical industry.
BATL offers technical training programmes for regulators, industry personnel and academics, while Thermo Fisher develops high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) technology.
Under the collaboration, BATL and Thermo Fisher will develop advanced analytical solutions and deliver training to address the current requirements of the biopharmaceutical industry.
Also, the collaboration is expected to focus on personalised medicine, monoclonal antibodies and gene and cell therapies areas.
Thermo Fisher Scientific biopharma, chromatography and mass spectrometry director Eric Grumbach said: “In the last few decades we’ve seen the development of novel biotherapies, such as gene therapies and personalised medicines, to treat a myriad of diseases, and this level of innovation within the biopharmaceutical industry continues to grow.
“With new therapies, there comes a need for forward-looking analytical techniques and methods to deliver the sensitivity and accuracy required to ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs.
“Our collaboration with BATL will provide biopharmaceutical organizations with the analytical solutions required to answer ground-breaking scientific questions, while still meeting regulations and optimizing their operations.”
Thermo Fisher to install Orbitrap Exploris 240 and Vanquish Duo UHPLC Systems at BATL facility
The health technology company will install Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris 240 mass spectrometer and Thermo Scientific Vanquish Duo UHPLC Systems at BATL’s advanced training facility.
BATL selected the Orbitrap Exploris 240 mass spectrometer based on its capability to address the needs of late-stage biopharmaceutical developers, including enhanced application flexibility, improved accuracy, operational simplicity and rapid turnaround times.
The spectrometer works across a wide range of samples, of changing characteristics, and is designed to deliver consistent results regardless of sample complexity.
BATL selected Vanquish Duo UHPLC System as it can be operated in tandem mode, without needing to wait for column equilibration for biopharmaceutical analyses.
The analytical systems are expected to enable BATL researchers to develop chromatography-based workflows for the analysis of biotherapeutics.
BATL director Jared Auclair said: “Our progressive training programs focus on the science- and risk-based evaluation of therapeutics, allowing scientists to reduce the regulatory burden and deliver potentially lifesaving drugs to patients more quickly.
“This collaboration with Thermo Fisher not only provides us with the analytical power we need from our instruments, but also allows us to drive the development of valuable biopharmaceutical characterisation and monitoring workflows to address the ever-evolving analysis needs within the industry.”