Free pipette!

INTEGRA Biosciences is giving away the chance to win a MINI 96 portable electronic pipette in its latest prize draw.

The MINI 96 is a compact and portable electronic pipette designed to revolutionize how laboratories fill 96 and 384 well plates. This innovative 96 channel pipette enables users to effortlessly fill entire or partial plates in one go, boosting productivity and reducing the strain of manual labor. Its small footprint means that it can be operated from anywhere in the laboratory – including inside laminar flow cabinets – making it incredibly versatile.

By entering the competition, laboratories have the opportunity to not only win their own MINI 96, but also be the first to hear about INTEGRA’s latest promotions and innovations. To participate, simply visit the competition landing page and complete the questionnaire. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2025.

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@INTEGRApipette @kdmcomms #Laboratory #BioScience

Best bioprocessing supplier in Asia.

For the fifth consecutive year, Körber has been awarded the Asia Pacific Bioprocessing Excellence Award (ABEA) in recognition of its Werum PAS-X MES, the world’s leading manufacturing execution system for pharma, biotech and cell & gene therapy production.

The Asia Pacific Bioprocessing Excellence Award honors exceptional experts, organizations and technologies that offer excellence enabling significant added value in biotech manufacturing, focusing on faster processes, lower costs, and higher quality. With this award, Körber's biotech community acknowledges the innovations of Körber's Business Area Pharma and the continuous development of its software products.

The latest PAS-X MES 3.3 version will further drive the transformation of MES through cloud and SaaS operations in Asia Pacific and globally. Additional emphasis is put on intelligence and analytic products to ensure customers get the most out of their manufacturing data to drive efficiency.

"We are delighted to receive the 'Best Bioprocessing Supplier Award: Software' for our Werum PAS-X MES for pharma, biotech and cell and gene therapies for the fifth year in a row," said Teerapong Cheepchol, President Software Asia, Körber Business Area Pharma, during the award ceremony in Singapore. "Many thanks to our customers who appreciate our efforts so much. This award is a true proof of their trust in our experience and expertise in this highly regulated industry. This success is the validation that drives us every day to develop innovative software products that make the difference – for our customers and the global challenges of the pharmaceutical industry". 

The award ceremony was held in conjunction with the 10th annual Biologics Manufacturing Asia 2023 conference on 15-16 March 2023 with more than 100 pioneers from the bioprocessing industry gathered. (Picture shows Teerapong Cheepchol, President Software Asia at Körber Business Area Pharma, accepting the “Best Bioprocessing Supplier Award: Software” at the award ceremony.)

@KoerberPharma @WerumKarriere #PAuto #Pharma 

Smart beekeeping!

ZEMIC Europe* are no strangers to extraordinary load measurement tasks as this latest application in beekeeping suggests.

Apiago is a French start-up company looking to help revolutionise the preservation of bees and promote biodiversity through a new-concept smart beehive which allows beginners with no beekeeping knowledge to install and maintain a beehive in their own garden. Apiago also supports businesses and communities in preserving pollinators by providing the food and shelter necessary for their presence. 

The Apiago beehive, visible to all, is the symbol of this initiative for biodiversity. The wall mounted autonomous, solar-powered hive, with its dedicated mobile phone app and internet integrated technology, includes a ZEMIC L6D 20 kg load cell that allows the bee colony’s weight gain or loss to be monitored as the bees pollinate the local area and the hive develops through the seasons.

Whilst load cell-based weighing systems have been extensively used for traditional hives by apiarists over many years, the patented Apiago hive brings beekeeping as a consumer-oriented product which can be installed in practically any garden or allotment setting and used without specialist knowledge.

ZEMIC’s L6D series load cell

For companies or cities, APIAGO solution is to use the Apiago hive as a symbol of the initiative engaged by the company or city in favour of biodiversity. APIAGO supports them to improve their green spaces to host more pollinators

ZEMIC worked with Apiago through a series of development trials and the 20 kg capacity L6D series load cell was selected as the best fitting and most cost-effective component for the application. The aluminium-alloy, IP65 rated single point load cell is OIML approved and has as a durable clear anodised finish. With a large selection of weighing ranges from 3 to 50 kg, it is widely used on commercial pricing, counting and bench scales.

* Variohm EuroSensor has a close association with ZEMIC dating back to 2008, providing comprehensive application support and a full sales service across its wide range of load and force sensors with capacities from a few hundred grams to more than 500 Tons. Product families include single point cells, compression cells, S-type, shear beam and spoke type load cells. Also available are complete weighing assemblies, separate strain gauge circuits, junction boxes, mounting accessories and electronics.

@ZemicEurope @Variohm #Food #Agriculture

Best in bioprocessing supply.

Werum IT Solutions has been honoured with the "Best Bioprocessing Supplier Award: Automation – Software" for the second consecutive year at the 7th Annual Biologics Manufacturing Asia 2020 conference, which was held virtually in July 2020.

Teerapong Cheepchol, MD Werum, Thailand

Werum receives the award for its market-leading PAS-X MES solution, comprising the PAS-X software product, pre-configured content for pharma and biotech processes, as well as consulting, training, and support services. PAS-X supports pharma and biotech manufacturers to gain operational excellence by increasing efficiency, improving productivity and meeting regulatory requirements – factors that are all essential for a company's performance in these highly regulated industries.

"We are honored to be named Best Bioprocessing Excellence Supplier for the second consecutive year," states Teerapong Cheepchol, Managing Director, Werum IT Solutions Ltd., Thailand. "The recognition encourages us to continue providing the best digital solutions and services as a strategic partner to pharma and biotech manufacturers in Asia Pacific. I would like to thank our customers, partners and employees for their commitment and trust."

The Asia-Pacific Bioprocessing Excellence Awards honor bioprocessing leaders from over nine different regional biologics hubs across Asia Pacific. The virtual award ceremony was held in parallel with the 7th Annual Biologics Manufacturing Asia and the 4th BioLogistics World Asia, bringing together over 500 pharma industry experts online.

@Werum #PHarma #Asia 

Life Sciences Analytics Software acquisition.

Bio-G’s modelling, simulation and scheduling software helps dynamically optimise operations and streamline technology transfer

Emerson has acquired Bioproduction Group (Bio-G), a leader in simulation, modelling, and scheduling software for biomanufacturing. Bio-G’s scheduling and modelling systems combined with Emerson’s extensive life sciences technology and expertise portfolio will help companies bring therapies for cancer, diabetes and other illnesses to patients sooner.

Manufacturing facilities are complex systems with thousands of interconnected assets and tasks. Bio-G’s Real-Time Modelling System™, part of Emerson’s acquisition of Bio-G, automatically captures these relationships, enabling accurate and reliable predictive analysis for biomanufacturing.

Life sciences companies continually look to accelerate the production of patient therapies and the Bio-G Scheduling software helps them accurately predict future plant resource availability to optimise manufacturing production. The scheduling software delivers an instantaneous view, accessible across an organisation, into the current and future state of the plant, providing decision support to help increase facility uptime and reduce schedule-related product losses.

By connecting analytics and modelling tools with data from automation and operations systems—including Emerson’s DeltaV™ distributed control system and Syncade™ manufacturing execution system—the scheduling software provides a unified view of operations, maintenance, quality and corporate systems. Bio-G’s software will become a part of Emerson’s Plantweb™ digital ecosystem, a comprehensive IIoT portfolio that expands digital intelligence to the entire manufacturing enterprise.

“We continue to work closely with industry leaders to develop the manufacturing technologies and approaches needed for next-generation biomanufacturing. With this acquisition, we can deliver even more ways to accelerate life sciences manufacturing,” said Tom Snead, president of life sciences at Emerson.

Organisations invest hundreds of millions of dollars building manufacturing facilities to bring medicines and therapies to patients. The success of those efforts and their operations often depends on the facility’s actual production meeting the facility’s designed production. Bio-G’s Real-Time Modelling System™ provides debottlenecking, capacity engineering and technology transfer analytics to deliver a comprehensive evaluation of a facility’s design and provide confidence prior to project execution and capital expenditure.

The modelling framework accurately identifies and quantifies bottlenecks, as well as determines the effectiveness of proposed solutions across all areas of a manufacturing facility. This modelling system helps accelerate the process of bringing therapies from clinical trials to full-scale manufacturing to patients by validating a facility’s potential for manufacturing success.

“We’re excited to join Emerson,” said David Zhang, Bio-G’s CEO and co-founder, who will be joining Emerson. “We’re united by a common mission to help innovate and find new ways for biomanufacturing organisations to optimise operations through technology.”

@EMR_Automation  #PAuto #Bioscience

Large biomanufacturing facility annouced.

A Hong Kong-listed global open-access biologics technology platform company, is to invest €325 million and create 400 new jobs over five years in a new biologics drug substance manufacturing facility in Dundalk (IRL). This was announced by the Taoiseach, Mr Leo Varadkar, Head of the Irish Government, on Monday 30th April 2018.

Taoiseach at inauguration of WuXi project.

Headquartered in Wuxi City, China, WuXi Biologics is a global leading platform company providing end-to-end solutions for biologics with a mission to accelerate and transform biologics discovery, development and manufacturing to benefit patients around the world.

This state-of-the-art facility-of-the-future will be built upon the novel approach WuXi Biologics has pioneered deploying multiple single-use bioreactors for commercial biomanufacturing and is also designed to be able to run continuous bioprocessing, a next generation manufacturing technology to be first implemented globally in this campus. A total of 48,000L fed-batch and 6,000L perfusion bioreactor capacity will be installed, representing the world’s largest facility using single-use bioreactors.

The manufacturing project in a 26-hectare campus, the company’s first site outside of China, is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

Speaking at today’s announcement in Dundalk, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “This is the start of something special. We will see the Factory of the Future, right here in Dundalk. It’s the first sizable Greenfield project from China in the pharma sector and I am delighted to see it located here in Dundalk. It’s also the latest in a number of investments in this town which has become a hub for a range of sectors, mainly in the new knowledge based and pharmaceutical sectors.

Louth hosts National Pen, PayPal, Xerox, Wasdell and Prometric, to name just a few. In 2017 there were 24 IDA-supported companies in the county, and the number of jobs created by them has tripled from 1,300 in 2010 to almost 4,000. It’s all part of the Government’s goal to increase regional investment and associated jobs by up to 40 per cent.”

Minister for Business, Enterprise & Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD welcomed the announcement, saying: “I was delighted to join the Taoiseach for the official announcement of WuXi’s significant investment in Dundalk. This huge €325 million investment is a great vote of confidence in Ireland and reinforces our image as a global centre of excellence in Biologics. This investment will result in the creation of over 400 highly skilled jobs over 5 years as well as approximately 700 construction jobs. This development is a further example of the success of our commitment under the Regional Action Plans for Jobs to provide quality jobs in regional locations.”

“We have been engaging IDA and ISIF for several years before finalizing today’s exciting investment in this community. This is our second major partnership in Ireland, following on WuXi NextCODE's work with Genomics Medicine Ireland (GMI). These ventures showcase how competitive Ireland is for global enterprise and investment, and we are grateful for all the support local agencies and the talented people here have provided us,“ Dr. Ge Li, Chairman of WuXi Biologics, commented.

Dr. Chris Chen, CEO of WuXi Biologics, added: “We are all excited to initiate our first global site to enable local companies and expedite biologics development in Europe. In addition, this is the start and a critical part of our global biomanufacturing network to ensure that biologics are manufactured to the highest quality and with a robust supply chain to benefit patients worldwide. We are committed to Ireland and will work with all local partners to build this state-of-art next generation biomanufacturing facility as a showcase to the global biotech community.”

Mr. Martin Shanahan, IDA Ireland CEO continued: “This investment is a significant win for Ireland and for the BMW Region particularly as it is WuXi Biologics’ first manufacturing facility outside of China. It also shows that our strategy of market diversification is working. WuXi Biologics is a strong addition to Ireland’s growing cluster of next-generation biopharmaceutical companies and will be an excellent reference seller for new greenfield Asia Pacific Investment into Ireland. The selection of a BMW regional location is a strong endorsement of IDA’s regional strategy and property strategy to acquire and secure pre-approved planning for biopharma strategic sites. The 400 jobs being created, along with some 700 jobs at the construction phase, will be of substantial benefit to the Region. The company has shown great commitment to Ireland with this project which represents an investment of €325 million. IDA is delighted to support this project and I wish the company every success here in Ireland and in this Region and will follow their progress with interest.”

“ WuXi Biologics has been our long-term strategic collaborator as contract manufacturer for our Pompe biologic, ATB200. We are excited to witness this new investment and support from the company to ensure robust commercial supply for our critical program ATB200,” said Dr. Enrique Dilone, SVP of Technical Operations at Amicus Therapeutics, Inc., a global biotechnology company at the forefront of advanced therapies to treat a range of devastating rare and orphan diseases.

This announcement expands upon the partnership established among IDA, ISIF and WuXi AppTec group companies. WuXi Biologics’ sister company, WuXi NextCODE, has partnered closely with GMI and ISIF since inception. Both investments and collaborations share a common goal: to advance cutting-edge technologies and high-value-added jobs based in Ireland and serve customers and markets worldwide.

 #WuXiBiologics #PAuto #Pharma @IDAIRELAND @campaignforleo

Integration of ERP and DCS in anesthesia plant.

B. Braun successfully updated their existing Werum PAS-X system from PAS-X V2 to PAS-X V3 in plant A at their headquarters in Melsungen (D). Braun is one of the world's leading healthcare providers offering products and systems for anesthesia, intensive care, cardiology, extracorporeal blood treatment, and surgery.

Production at plant A in Melsungen,
© B. Braun Melsungen AG

In plant A, the company produces anesthesia – i.e. tranquilizers and hypnotics – for all surgical processes. In order to meet the growing global demand, it was necessary to extend and partly automate the weighing process (e.g. dosing of raw material).

"A Fit/Gap analysis with Werum experts showed that many of our required functions are included as standard functions in the latest PAS-X version," says Mike Werner, Engineer for Control Systems, B. Braun Melsungen AG. "As an adjustment of our old system would have resulted in higher costs, the decision for an upgrade to PAS-X 3.1.8 was quickly taken."

The upgrade is B. Braun's first PAS-X 3.1.8 project. The new version is implemented close-to-standard. PAS-X is fully integrated with SAP ERP on Level 4 and with Simatic Batch DCS on Level 2.

For the future, B. Braun plans to gradually extend their PAS-X system to a functionally complete MES and to roll-out PAS-X 3.1.8 to further sites in Melsungen and Berlin. Apart from the improved upgrade capability, this is also intended to harmonize the production IT infrastructure.

 @werum #PAuto 

Automation contract for Swiss biotech plant

4.7 million Euro contract includes Syncade™ and DeltaV™ systems to manage complex operations while driving toward paperless production

Belgium-based UCB has awarded Emerson Process Management, a 4.7 million Euro contract to provide integrated process automation and operations management systems for a new biopharmaceutical production centre in Bulle (CH). Emerson’s technologies and engineering services will be crucial in meeting the very high standards expected by the UCB project team.

UCB is investing €175 million to construct the first phase of a new plant, its first biopharmaceutical project in Switzerland. The 20,000-square-metre facility, which will be one of the largest in Europe, will be the main production centre for Cimzia® (certolizumab pegol), which is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.

"The state-of-the-art and largely automated facility at Bulle will be a model for the industry when it opens in 2015," said Michele Antonelli, UCB executive vice president. "To ensure the project meets its tight build-out schedule, we selected Emerson Process Management for its demonstrated ability to engineer and coordinate fast-track automation projects of this type."

Emerson’s integrated solution includes its Syncade™ Smart Operations Management Suite, DeltaV™ digital automation system, and AMS Suite predictive maintenance software. Emerson will also provide related engineering services, including design, installation, testing, and commissioning.

The Syncade Suite software integrates real-time plant floor data with business processes, decisions, and asset management – a key advantage in managing complex operations and extensive documentation required in pharmaceutical production. Syncade Suite manages workflow processes, including electronic work instructions, equipment status and material tracking, recipe-driven operations, automated weigh and dispense operations, and exception reporting.

"Typical biotech manufacturing can involve thousands of pieces of paper that can affect the ability to produce ‘right-first-time’ batches," said Lorenzo Zampini, automation project manager. "With Emerson’s integrated operations management and control systems, we can automate the reporting process as well as gain tighter process control for increased productivity and smoother regulatory compliance."

The Syncade software integrates with Emerson’s DeltaV automation system to facilitate operational activities and information flow from the plant floor up to UCB’s SAP system. In the UCB plant, the DeltaV system will control 163 process units including fermentation, purification, filtration, and bottling. Emerson’s new electronic marshalling technology with CHARMs (characterization modules) will help minimise installation time by eliminating up to two-thirds of the wiring and connections needed with traditional control systems.

Emerson’s AMS Suite predictive maintenance software that will be supporting HART instrumentation will make it easy for technicians to calibrate critical instruments, check their status, and even detects potential problems before they affect operations.

"Emerson is delighted that UCB has chosen us to automate this ground-breaking facility," said Steve Sonnenberg, president of Emerson Process Management. "Our proven ability to provide a single source for both plant automation and operations management systems will help UCB seamlessly manage operations from the plant floor to the head office. We look forward to working with them as they bring the Bulle facility to life."

Unique bioprocessing training facility opened!

Seán Sherlock, TD, Ireland's Minister for Research & Innovation (part of the Department of Jobs Enterprise & Innovation) has officially opened the new €57million National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT).

Joe Sherlock opening NIBRT
(Pic: Owen Bonner, Emerson Ireland)

The state of the art facility will support the biopharmaceutical industry in Ireland by educating and training highly skilled staff and by conducting ground-breaking research in collaboration with industry. 

The new facility represents a major strategic investment in the bioprocessing industry in Ireland and is an innovative collaboration between four leading Higher Education Institutes – University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Institute of Technology, Sligo and Dublin City University and supported by the Irish Government and IDA Ireland.

The NIBRT facility is unique as it is the only bioprocessing training facility in the world that so closely replicates an industrial bioprocessing environment. This allows trainees the opportunity to learn and practice complex technical bioprocessing procedures and to enhance their skills using the most modern equipment and facilities available anywhere.

Officiating at the opening, Minister Sherlock said:  “The pharmaceutical industry plays a critical role in the economic well-being of Ireland and the new NIBRT facility sets Ireland apart as a world class location for these companies”.  He added: “This is a far-sighted investment by the Government and IDA Ireland, to underpin the development of the pharmaceutical industry by supporting the collaboration with the founding Higher Education Institutes to establish NIBRT. Ireland will undoubtedly reap the benefits in the long run both in terms of high value job creation and in attracting further foreign direct investment from the industry to our shores”.

“This new facility will play a vital role in training personnel for the bioprocessing industry in Ireland”, said Mr. Joe Harford, Chairperson of NIBRT. “The availability of such excellent research facilities and highly skilled staff will also support IDA Ireland as it seeks to attract further biopharmaceutical companies to establish operations here. Our ability to successfully integrate ground-breaking research with world class training and education makes NIBRT globally unique”.

Professor Ian Marison, Interim Director of NIBRT, stated: “We are offering trainees and students an incredible learning experience. NIBRT will help to position Ireland as a global centre of excellence in bioprocessing. Our trainees will be the future leaders in an industry which plays such an important role in the Irish economy. Our aim is also to work with industry to identify the key issues affecting the biopharma industry today and to put together expert teams of scientists to solve these problems”.

CEO, IDA Ireland, Mr Barry O’Leary said: “Ireland has a long, successful track-record of attracting significant pharmaceutical investment from multinationals. We have now established Ireland as the second largest Development and Manufacturing (D&M) location in the world for Biopharmaceuticals, after the US. Global leaders in the Biopharmaceuticals  sector that have already undertaken significant investments in Ireland include Pfizer, Merck, Amgen, Genzyme (Sanofi), Lilly, Centocor (Johnson & Johnson), Allergan and Mylan. The establishment of NIBRT will further improve Ireland’s value proposition in attracting further Biopharmaceutical investment to Ireland.”

Ireland is a key location for the Life Sciences industry, with 9 of the top 10 global companies based here. The sector employs over 47,000 staff between indigenous and multinational companies in the areas of Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Medical Devices and Diagnostics. Exports last year were in excess of €46 billion - 42% of total exports from Ireland.

The 6,500 sq metres NIBRT facility is purpose-built to provide a world class training environment and was designed in conjunction with leading industry experts to resemble a modern bioprocessing plant.

The staff in NIBRT includes expert lecturers and trainers and world respected research teams headed by leading Principal Investigators (PIs). An example is Professor Pauline Rudd, who recently transferred her team from the Glycobiology Institute, Oxford University, to NIBRT. Professor Rudd is leading important research in the area of glycosylation changes which play a crucial role in the production of advanced biopharmaceuticals and which is also important in disease, particularly cancer and autoimmunity.

Monitoring 50,000 SCADA points in bioscience plant!

Genzyme a world leader in biotechnology, is creating a new polyclonal antibody production site.This is an innovative production facility: the process has been automated as far as possible, to reduce human error in the many stages of the process (separation, purification, filtration, ultrafiltration, haemadsorption etc.).This involves being able to interface with a battery of very mixed laboratory equipment, which was not initially designed to communicate with fieldbuses. Genzyme has used about thirty HMS Anybus Communicator gateways, to enable consistent SCADA management across all the devices in use. Benefits are as much in terms of quality as in production costs.

The Lyon (F) bioproduction site extends over an area of 22,000 m², and produces a selective immunosuppressant which is used to prevent and treat organ rejection during organ transplants (Thymoglobulin®).This drug is also used in haematology in cases where the transplanted cells react against their host in bone marrow transplants. The active agents in this drug are anti-human thymocyte immunoglobulins, obtained from the purification of a serum, which is used as the raw material. The immunogenic base consists of thymocytes (Thymus cells), a natural source of T cells. The development of this site has involved investment worth €115m.

“Genzyme is currently using labour-intensive production methods at the Sanofi Pasteur site, Marcy (F). With the new site, we’re hoping to optimise the process so as to reduce human error to the absolute minimum. This highly sequential batch process involves more than 780 production stages. There are many sources of error. Automating a process such as this has required a lot of close work with the equipment involved when deciding how the system should behave. This has avoided the need to re-think the entire ergonomics of the building and production equipment, whilst still resulting in a true revolution in the way the production process works. To achieve this, we specified more than 4,000 parameters and 13,000 alarms, enabling us to master every stage of production,” explains Alexis Ducancel, Genzyme’s Automated Systems officer.

Bioproduction: a series of complex processes
Unlike traditional chemistry, production based on living cells involves many different complex and expensive stages. The production cycle for a recombinant protein requires an industrial infrastructure which is suited to large-scale production involving several stages staggered over several months. Each stage is subject to numerous quality controls. Tests to ensure the absence of viruses and contaminants are performed throughout the production cycle. At the end of the line, the purity and action of the protein are also checked.

The production of this drug involves many complex stages, punctuated by a succession of technical and quality assurance tests. The production process can be broken down into four main stages:
 - The collection of the immunoglobulins, which is done by injecting human tissue into rabbits.
 - The purification of the immunoglobulins to remove undesirable proteins (particularly anti-erythrocyte antibodies), by haemadsorption.
 - The chromatography stage consists of anion exchange through the use of an ion exchange resin.Impurities are captured by the resin, whilst the immunoglobulins, which are not negatively charged, are eluted. This stage is checked using spectrophotometry and electrophoresis.
 - The precipitation stage is intended to eliminate the last remaining impurities. The purified immunoglobulins are pasteurised (60°C for 10 hours).This solution is freeze-dried before being sealed into vials. 

“In this process we can, for example, program in the settings for the centrifuges (speed, temperature, working time etc.).These values can be changed in the SCADA to take the specific requirements of the current production batch into account. Readings are taken at every stage and sent back to the SCADA.This enables us to put a very precise traceability process in place. In particular, this means that the workload for the quality assurance teams is significantly reduced, which is an advantage in cost terms,” adds Alexis Ducancel.

The Lyon site, like the Marcy site, will receive FDA and AFFAPS approval.
“Naturally, we chose HMS, because we felt that no other company has standard solutions available to return data from a very mixed set of equipment which has not necessarily been designed for connection to fieldbuses. We have 28 centrifuges, pH-meters, balances and so on. The interface protocols vary: serial or ASCII for example. The 30 Anybus Communicators on site send the data back over the Ethernet or Profibus to the central SCADA.”

Anybus Communicator: the solution for integrating Serial equipment into an industrial communication network
The Anybus Communicator series of gateways for connection to industrial Ethernet/Fieldbus makes it possible to network devices which were developed for use in a serial network. The Anybus Communicator can connect most products with an RS-232/422/485 serial interface to an industrial Ethernet or fieldbus. It performs an intelligent conversion between the serial protocol and destination network. This conversion is configured using the “ABC Config Tool” software. The network configuration, once completed, can be re-used for all networks supported by the Communicator.
“Quite apart from the quality of the product, we found that technical support was there whenever we needed it,” concludes Alexis Ducancel.

Around fifty employees are now in place at the Genzyme production site, where initial production batches are being run to validate the production process. Full production should start in late 2011, once the AFSSAPS certifications have been obtained. The total number of staff should then rise to 270.

New biobank poster

The benefits of integrating comprehensive solutions for biobanks
Thermo Fisher Scientific is offering a new technical poster demonstrating its comprehensive portfolio of offerings for biobanks and biorepositories. Thermo Fisher Scientific has the world's largest breadth of offerings for biobanks, from biospecimen collection, processing, testing and storage to sample and data management. The new poster, The Cure for Your Biobanking Informatics Challenges, was authored by senior technical managers from Thermo Fisher Scientific and highlights the growing need for modern biobanks to find efficient and cost-effective methods of storing and accessing samples.

The new poster outlines how the company's work with some of the world's most renowned biobanks, including UK Biobank and HUNT Biobank, has enabled it to feature a range of expertise in its biobanking module. It also demonstrates how Thermo Fisher Scientific solutions allow customers to get up-to-speed quickly with the flexibility to meet individual requirements and business needs. The company's end-to-end portfolio for biobanks includes centrifuges,
concentrators, freezers, robotics, 2D barcodes, microplate readers, mass spectrometers and comprehensive services that enable turn-key biobanking solutions.

In addition, the poster highlights the company's innovative services and software for biorepositories, including laboratory information management systems, laboratory equipment and storage and related services. The emergence of biobanking modules that facilitate integration with laboratory information management systems (LIMS) provide biobanks with the tools needed to manage sample login, tracking and shipping as well as securely store critical donor information. Thermo Scientific Nautilus LIMS biospecimen tracking software is specifically designed for data capture, location management, chain-of-custody and handling assurance requirements. Furthermore, this information can be integrated with laboratory instruments, assay/test request, and results capture and reporting.