Single-use tech ‘reshaping’ the industry as Thermo Fisher further invests
The company recently invested $50m (€44.26m) in its bioproduction capabilities and added capacity for the manufacturing of its single-use bioprocess systems for critical, sterile liquid-handling applications in the industry.
Steve Lam, VP and GM of single-use technologies at Thermo Fisher Scientific, told us, “The single-use market is evolving rapidly and is projected to continue to grow by double digits in the foreseeable future.”
He further explained that investment to grow capacity comes after Thermo Fisher saw increased demand for BioProcess Containers (BPCs). Lam told us that BPCs and other fluid transfer assemblies are considered the cornerstone of single-use bioprocessing today.
“Single-use continues to reshape the face of the industry. Companies are increasingly choosing to implement single use-based processes in production. This means replacing old stainless-steel systems and processes with more agile single-use systems,” said Lam.
BPC’s are used throughout the entire single use-based bioprocess workflow, he added. The products are used for media preparation, mammalian cell culture, or microbial fermentation process through harvest, buffer preparation, purification, and fill-finish.
He added, “Along with the evolution of single-use technologies, users are looking at developing entire end-to-end manufacturing processes that require complex data management and process automation.”
Thermo Fisher will add this capacity to its manufacturing sites in Logan, Utah, in the US, and Cramlington, in the UK, which are already producing BPCs. The company’s site in Millersburg, Pennsylvania, will also see expanded capacity per the investment.
Lam said that the increased capacity at the UK site will enable the company to meet the demand for single-use technology in Europe.
Construction following the investment is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.
