Dependable & responsive delivery!

Emerson has announced the new QuickShip fulfilment programme offering customers a range of parts and product shipment service options to meet specific project requirements. The new programme leverages Emerson’s global production and shipping infrastructure to deliver a high level of dependability and responsiveness, making it easier to accommodate change orders, minimise downtime and improve project return on investment.

“Emerson’s global reach and comprehensive portfolio of Lifecycle Services can meet even the toughest unplanned logistical challenges,” said Johan Claassen, vice president, Lifecycle Services, Emerson Automation Solutions. “Our goal is to ensure project managers can meet their scope and schedule expectations by offering them fast and reliable shipping of parts and products.”

For turnaround projects, discovery and emergent work not initially included in the original scope of a project are often a leading cause of turnaround schedule and budget overruns, costing the process industries billions of dollars in lost profits each year. Emerson’s QuickShip provides instant access to on-site operators 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for online chat, call and quick order processing to ensure on-time delivery when unanticipated problems require immediate attention, reducing the impact of late changes to project scope.

The QuickShip programme offers three tiers of shipping services to meet specific needs:

• QuickShip Everyday provides fast, easy and reliable delivery of commonly-ordered items at no additional cost. Customers can select from an extensive list of available items through Emerson’s online store and receive immediate confirmations and shipping quotes within 24 hours.
• QuickShip Expedite leverages Emerson’s worldwide manufacturing resources to reduce production time and enable fast, flexible delivery for any of our products, from instruments to complex assemblies and other long-lead items.
• QuickShip Emergency enables the fastest order fulfilment shipment speed – typically same day or next day – of critical parts and products by connecting customers to Emerson representatives who can help identify correct parts, evaluate viable options, and process the order quickly through front-of-line factory assembly or Emerson’s dedicated local QuickShip fulfilment offices, enabling the item to be rushed directly to site.

@EMR_Automation  #PAuto #EMrex

IoT solutions to improve uptime and operational performance.

Covestro, one of the world’s largest polymer companies, has selected Emerson to provide Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to help the chemical manufacturer achieve its goals of minimising risk and improving uptime at nine high-utilisation plants. As part of the €11.30 million ($14us million), five-year contract, Emerson will provide remote monitoring and predictive maintenance to help Covestro optimise these manufacturing facilities for improved production, safety and reliability.

The Emerson programme is a tenet of Covestro’s comprehensive digitisation programme called Digital@Covestro that considers and implements new Industrial IoT strategies and operating procedures to deliver improved performance and meet defined financial targets. Covestro’s reliability programme will leverage strategies, solutions and technologies in Emerson’s Operational Certainty programme designed to help manufacturers achieve Top Quartile performance. Emerson data shows that Top Quartile companies spend half as much on maintenance compared to average performers and operate with an additional 15 days of available production each year.

Emerson will remotely monitor and maintain 40 of its DeltaV™ distributed control systems at Covestro plants in China, the United States and Germany. Remote teams at Emerson’s Innovation Centre in Austin, Texas, will monitor and provide best practices-based maintenance strategies for local Emerson teams to implement at each Covestro plant.

“By collaborating with Emerson to stay proactive about plant availability, we can drive toward always-on production and continue to satisfy customers in our high-demand market,” said Klaus Schaefer, chief technical officer, Covestro.

The Emerson-Covestro agreement reflects an emerging business model in industry, where manufacturers rely on a strategic supplier’s software solutions and deep automation expertise to monitor and execute maintenance, equipment health or energy management programmes, allowing customers to focus their attention on critical operating functions that drive plant performance.

“Covestro and Emerson have a shared focus on driving Top Quartile operational performance,” said Jamie Froedge, president of Emerson’s Process Systems and Solutions business. “Connecting Covestro’s global product manufacturing expertise with our remote and local service capabilities allows the right expert to be available, real time, to ensure reliable operations.”

This global reliability programme is the result of a long-term strategic relationship between Emerson and Covestro. In 2015, the two organisations embarked on a 17-system pilot programme with Emerson’s lifecycle services, including Guardian™ Support and DeltaV System Health Monitoring Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions that resulted in higher plant utilisation and a clear return on investment.

Covestro is the global leader in polyurethane, polycarbonates, and raw materials for premium coatings, adhesives, and sealants used in every aspect of modern life from mattresses and building insulation to cosmetics and cell phones.

@EMR_Automation  #PAuto @Emerson_News #IoT

Automation & Services in drug plant awarded.

The Global healthcare company Novo Nordisk has awarded Emerson a $40 million (€34 m) automation systems and services contract for a new US-based drug manufacturing facility to help battle the global diabetes epidemic. The largest project in its history, Novo Nordisk’s new $2 billion (€1.7b) plant in Clayton, (NC USA), will leverage Emerson’s Project Certainty methodologies and automation technologies to help ensure the plant meets its operational target of 2020.

Mike Train at the NBIRT Life Science Event 
in Dublin earlier in 2017.

The new 825,000-square-foot production facility will help the Danish drug company increase manufacturing capacity and meet its goal of doubling production of diabetes drugs over the next decade. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 29 million Americans are living with diabetes, with another 86 million living with prediabetes.

“Our extensive experience in the life sciences industry and integrated offering for capital projects and automation perfectly positions us to help Novo Nordisk deliver its largest project in history,” said Mike Train, executive president, Emerson Automation Solutions. “Together we can design and deliver this world-class manufacturing facility to be ready on time, and to quickly bring these important diabetes medicines to patients.”

Novo Nordisk will implement elements of Emerson’s Project Certainty approach to help reduce project complexity and achieve the tight project schedule. This transformational approach leverages automation technology, which serves as a central nervous system in a plant, and new methodologies, to reduce costs and complexity and accommodate late-stage project changes.

Novo Nordisk selected Emerson’s integrated portfolio of automation technologies and services, including its DeltaV™ distributed control system (DCS) and Syncade manufacturing execution system (MES). Emerson will also provide smart automation technologies including valves and measurement instrumentation.

@EMR_Automation #PAuto #LifeScience @Emerson_News  @HHC_Lewis 

Life sciences European HQ opened in Britain!

In the aftermath of the Brexit decision of Britain it is more usual to read about companies seeking to set up or move their European HQ to one of the twenty seven countries who have opted to remain in the free market of the European Union. So we thought that our readers might be interested in this particular story received today.

Boris Johnson opens the
European HQ of TraceLink!

As the European pharmaceutical industry prepares for new serialisation requirements set out in the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD), TraceLink's new headquarters will allow the world’s largest track and trace network for connecting the life sciences supply chain, to continue its growth and support pharmaceutical companies in this market.

The new headquarters form part of a £55 million investment into the company’s overall global operations this year and follow an impressive 656 percent growth in European sales bookings for Q1. It has been officially opened by British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, in Uxbridge near London.

Commenting on the investment Uxbridge MP and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: "I am delighted to join TraceLink to celebrate its continued success and decision to add further investment and jobs into the UK.

"In 2015 the UK life sciences sector contributed £30.4 billion in UK GDP, supported 482,000 jobs and contributed £8.6 billion in taxes. TraceLink's decision to create substantial job growth and invest in its European headquarters adds yet further strength to the importance of the life sciences sector to the UK economy and is a real boost for the local communities. With an honourable mission to help the life sciences industry protect the global medicine supply, I am proud to have companies like TraceLink right here in Uxbridge to continue pushing the UK to the forefront of the global life sciences sector.

"The Government's drive to improve UK healthcare outcomes can only be helped by the ongoing success of the UK life sciences sector and companies like TraceLink continuing to innovate in order to tackle global healthcare challenges.”


The new headquarters will enable TraceLink Inc., a life sciences technology firm which has its US headquarters in Massachusetts, to create roles for 55 new employees in Europe across sales, services, marketing and administration during 2017. TraceLink also plans to expand its European team by more than 80 percent in the next twelve months as demand for its cloud network solution increases within the European pharmaceutical sector.

“Expanding and investing in our presence in Europe is a natural response to the demand we’ve seen from companies for our proven, scalable network solution to meet their serialization needs and comply with EU FMD. We are deeply committed to continuing our investment into Europe and furthering our mission to enabling innovation in the global life sciences sector and protecting patients,” said Shabbir Dahod, president and CEO, TraceLink.

The development of the European team will be focused on continuing to build regional and native expertise, and expanding the 15 languages already spoken by the current TraceLink services team in EMEA. Worldwide, TraceLink expects to have over 400 employees by the end of 2017, an 80 percent year-over-year increase in global employee growth.

As part of its EU recruitment drive, the company has also added two regional EU sales leaders, deepening its pan-European presence to develop localised TraceLink teams dedicated to serving the life sciences industry in specific markets, including the DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) region and Southern Europe.

@TraceLink #Pharma, #PAuto #Brexit

During the period that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are working through their exit from the European Union (EU) we will endevour to bring items of particular interest and/or relevance.

Strategic relationship to accelerate life sciences product pipelines.

Emerson has selected Enterprise System Partners (ESP), a global consulting and project engineering company, to collaborate with and assist life sciences manufacturers in implementing Syncade manufacturing execution systems to improve operations management and accelerate product manufacturing pipelines for new biotech and pharmaceutical therapies.

ESP's Liam O'Brien

“ESP’s business has been about best-in-class project delivery of MES solutions to the life sciences industry for the last 15 years. We are delighted to share that expertise with Emerson for the application of their world-class industry products,” says Liam O’Brien, managing director, ESP. “The synergy that exists between our two companies in understanding the complexities of MES projects provides our clients with innovative solutions to increase efficiency and avail of advanced work methodologies.”

By understanding the unique challenges of MES projects, Emerson and ESP have completely refreshed their execution model and methodology. Now the team deploys an iterative approach to project delivery that enables life sciences enterprises to adopt new technology faster - and start up more rapidly. Faster, iterative approaches will help ensure projects reflect the project vision and end-user requirements, while helping Emerson and ESP meet increased demand for its Syncade MES.

“Being successful in a growing industry like life sciences requires new and innovative approaches to execute projects. In selecting ESP to collaborate with, we have set the stage for even more efficient project execution,” says Tom Snead, president of global life sciences industry for Emerson. “As life sciences manufacturers are pressured to bring medicines to patients sooner, we provide a path to keep pace with patient and market needs.”

The new model is a change from the industry’s traditional waterfall execution approach and will streamline the process, reduce risk, and minimise rework and cost.

@EMR_Automation  #PAuto @ESPNewsandJobs 

Good news for life sciences in Northern Europe.

Pharma and biotech manufacturers in Northern Europe benefit from additional local PAS-X MES expertise during on-site implementation

LtoR: Mats Forsberg (ÅF), Max Börjesson (ÅF), Anders Bennermark (ÅF), Torsten Isenberg (Werum) and Peter Vigh (ÅF)

Good news for pharma and biotech manufacturers in Northern Europe: Werum IT Solutions further expands its PAS-X Service Partner network. The world’s leading supplier of manufacturing execution systems (MES) signed a partnership agreement with ÅF Industry. ÅF is a leading engineering and consulting company based in Stockholm, Sweden.

As a certified "PAS-X Endorsed Service Partner", ÅF Industry will support Werum customers in Europe – especially in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries – during the on-site-implementation of Werum's PAS-X MES. ÅF will e.g. provide resources for MBR design, system configuration, installation, and the integration of automation systems and equipment.

“We opted for ÅF Industry because they have many offices in Scandinavia and the Baltic region and they already know our customers,” says Torsten Isenberg, Senior Director Services at Werum IT Solutions GmbH. “With their unique Level 2 and MES implementation expertise plus their excellent reputation in Northern Europe, ÅF will provide high-quality services and support to our existing and new customers."

Max Börjesson, Section Manager Food & Pharma at ÅF Industry: “ÅF’s long experience in offering consulting services to the pharmaceutical market makes us a stable and reliable partner for Werum and its customers in the context of PAS-X MES implementation. With our deep understanding of the daily operations in the industry, we can perform the transition from a paper-based to a digital quality control system efficiently and in high quality.”

"PAS-X Endorsed Service Partners" meet all requirements of Werum's PAS-X Service Partner Program. The main objective is to offer the same quality and competence of services to Werum customers all over the world – through reliable, experienced and certified partners. The PAS-X Service Partners need to have comprehensive PAS-X knowledge, participate at PAS-X trainings on a regular basis, possess experience in the regulated industry and use a quality management system. The certification has to be renewed on a regular basis.

@Werum #PAuto #Pharma

Increasing service to MES & Automation sector.

Zenith Technologies has strengthened its global workforce, recruiting 100 people over the past year in response to growing demand for manufacturing execution system (MES) and automation technology in the pharma sector.

Zenith Graduates

The global life science technology firm, with headquarters in Cork and 16 offices worldwide, has experienced double digit growth across its automation, MES and managed services offering, which has been supported by around a 50% increase in headcount since 2014. It’s 700 plus strong team of engineers supports some of the world’s largest pharma firms with the implementation of new technology.

As demand for technology grows in the pharma sector against a backdrop of an industry-wide engineering skills shortage, Zenith is also investing in training future talent. The company has just made a record intake of more than 30 graduates from across Ireland, the UK, the US and Singapore.

Shea Fahy, HR director at Zenith commented: “Recruiting skilled and experienced staff is important for the future of our business and the growing adoption of technology in the life sciences space also demands engineers to ensure effective implementation and support solutions. We’re proud that our one-year graduate programme addresses the engineering skills gap head on, supporting the talent of the future.”

Graduates will benefit from an initial two-week induction and six-week mentoring session from experienced engineers, where they will learn to identify customer challenges and select the appropriate technological solutions.

“We have worked hard to build up a reputation as a trusted technology partner in the life sciences sector. Our employees have the opportunity to work with some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, with a structured approach to continued learning and development to enhance their engineering skillset.

“We are incredibly proud of the growth we have been able to achieve. We will continue to strengthen our ability to support our customers and by the end of this year, we expect to have doubled our headcount from 2014.” 

Zenith Technologies offers a variety of engineering career opportunities across its MES and automation solutions and has been recognised as a Great Place to Work 2017.

@ZenithIre  #PAuto #MES

Phenomenal growth in MES sales!

A global life science technology firm has surpassed the €20 million milestone for sales of its manufacturing execution system (MES) services.

Zenith Technologies, which is headquartered in Ireland,  provides MES and data historian deployment and support services to pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers globally. The company has seen sales for this part of the business grow significantly over the last five years, with an average of over 35% year on year growth.

Commenting on the growth trend, James O’Brien (right), global MES business unit lead at Zenith Technologies, said: “MES has been the fastest growing segment of our offering and now represents almost a third of our business. Factors such as a greater regulatory focus on data integrity and customer demand for improved production performance have led to growing use of MES solutions within the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries, which have traditionally been slow to adopt new technologies.

“The UK in particular is quickly becoming an MES centre of excellence, with MES sales representing 70% of our business in this market. Similarly, the US & Asia markets offer huge growth potential as the adoption of MES within the life science industry continues to grow across the globe.”

Zenith Technologies now works with nine of the top ten pharmaceutical companies globally and during 2016 its team of engineers grew by almost 40% to over 700 employees.

To strengthen its ability to support customers in Europe, the US and Asia and accelerate further growth, the company has recently formed a number of strategic partnerships with MES technology providers, including Werum IT Solutions , AspenTech and LZ Lifescience. This will enable Zenith to support customers worldwide with on-site implementations of MES solutions designed to improve productivity, meet regulatory requirements during life science manufacturing and ultimately deliver vital medicines to patients as efficiently as possible.

@ZenithIre #PAuto @ramarketingpr #MES

Speeding time-to-market for pharmaceutical and biotech operations.

DeltaV™ Discovery, an automation solution for research and discovery laboratories that accelerates new product introduction for life sciences manufacturers has been introduced by Emerson. Life sciences enterprises can streamline their product lifecycle by integrating DeltaV Discovery as a common platform earlier, enabling more efficient development activity and accurate technology transfer from laboratory through production-scale operations.

Life sciences enterprises must bring safe, cost-effective drugs and therapies to patients quickly. Emerson delivers automation strategies that support rapid innovation in the fast-changing and competitive healthcare market. DeltaV Discovery expands these capabilities by providing automation technology earlier in the development cycle to support research and discovery activities.

DeltaV Discovery is a technology component of Emerson’s Operational Certainty™ programme designed to help industrial companies achieve top performance.

“With a $2.6B average cost to develop a commercially viable drug over a ten-plus year development period, companies must find ways to more efficiently scale up to commercial operations and reduce the time-consuming process of technology transfer,” says John Nita, vice president, life sciences, Emerson Automation Solutions. “DeltaV Discovery is vital in helping our life sciences customers ensure the work done in the research stage translates to a successfully operating production facility in the fastest possible time at the lowest possible cost.”

DeltaV Discovery delivers the capabilities of the DeltaV Distributed Control System (DCS) - already used widely for large-scale manufacturing - in a less complex and more compact size. This is convenient for research laboratories where a smaller footprint and easy automation integration are important. The smaller form factor and easier integration make it possible for the same automation application already used in production-scale operations to also be used in the product development pipeline.

DeltaV Discovery has a smaller footprint because it does not require physical hardware controllers or I/O cards. Automation strategies and I/O processing are all executed in a compact workstation. DeltaV Discovery interfaces to lab-scale equipment via multiple Ethernet protocols including OPC, Modbus/TCP, and Ethernet/IP.

Even with the smaller size, DeltaV Discovery delivers powerful capabilities - including batch management and integrated historians - not commonly found in a laboratory automation platform. DeltaV Discovery facilitates data integrity, 21 CFR part 11, and ISA-88 standards for batch execution and history collection. It also delivers alarms, events, and advanced batch data integration to the user in a single workstation. DeltaV Discovery delivers automation and compliance capabilities of commercial manufacturing to the lab.

@EMR_Automation #PAuto #biolife @Emerson_News #Pharma

Life science technology firm appoints new CEO.

Joe Haugh has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Technologies. He will lead the company to further growth as demand for the integration of manufacturing software systems in the pharmaceutical industry increases.

Joe Haugh

He will direct the company’s strategic direction and operations, driving forward plans to strengthen its partner network, further invest in teams and infrastructure, and increase its global presence.

With more than 20 years’ experience in the life science industry, Joe has held a variety of roles within Zenith Technologies since joining in 2000, including Director of New Business Ventures and European General Manager.

Commenting on his role, Joe said: “We have witnessed a real mind-set shift in the industry, with a move towards the use of automation and process control technology to drive efficiencies in manufacturing. In fact, the life science industry is adopting manufacturing execution system (MES) technology at a faster rate than any other vertical market, (Strategic Analysis of the Global MES Market, Frost & Sullivan - Sept 2014) making this an exciting time for our business.

“Zenith Technologies has strong partnerships with many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturers, as well as life science companies of all sizes, connecting them with the latest technologies and providing on the ground support to help achieve operational efficiencies, performance improvements and compliance. In this way, we become an intrinsic part of their operations.

“Over the next three years we plan to build on the considerable growth we have experienced in the US and Asia and meet demand for our services in key territories including India, China, Malaysia and Singapore.”

Joe’s promotion sees former CEO and Zenith Technologies founder Brendan O’Regan become Executive Chairman.

Brendan O'Regan

Commenting Brendan said: “Joe has dedicated himself to Zenith Technologies and all its ventures for many years, helping to make the company what it is today. His extensive knowledge of the life science and related industries ensures that our products and services are of the highest quality and integrate the most innovative technologies.

“As Executive Chairman, I will continue to take an active role in the strategic direction, operation and governance of the Zenith Group and plan to further strengthen our Board with a number of new appointees to ensure future growth and success.”

Headquartered in Cork and with 14 offices globally, Zenith Technologies is one of the leading companies in delivering full life cycle enterprise, manufacturing and operational support solutions that enable life science businesses to be compliant and competitive.

 @ZenithIre #PAuto #Pharma 

Biopharma alliance announced.

Zenith Technologies and GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences business have announced a collaboration to support biopharmaceutical manufacturing deployment.

As part of the partnership, Zenith Technologies’ methodologies, systems and libraries will be offered as a service to GE Healthcare’s clients in bioprocessing. The combined offering is aimed at helping biopharmaceutical manufacturers increase productivity, improve efficiency and reduce costs.

The two companies will integrate process control systems, manufacturing execution system (MES) solutions and other supporting technologies with GE Healthcare’s start-to-finish technologies and solutions for the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

Jan Makela, general manager at BioProcess GE Healthcare said: "The development of our KUBio modular manufacturing facilities and FlexFactory single-use manufacturing platform was fuelled by the need for customers to deploy biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity more quickly and at a lower cost.

“Implementing these advanced technology platforms requires automation expertise for which we partner with a number of world class companies. With Zenith Technologies’ expertise in automation integration and customer support, we will be able to offer more choice to customers.”

Brendan O’Regan, founder at Zenith Technologies, said: “This is a significant milestone in our development and ushers in a new era of opportunity for both companies.

“GE offers an unprecedented solution to our pharmaceutical customers to help rapidly deploy capacity and significantly reduce time to market. Combined with our manufacturing software systems and on the ground, global support services, we can help biopharmaceutical manufacturers improve their processes and ultimately increase their competitiveness.”

• Headquartered in Cork (IRL) and with 14 offices globally, Zenith Technologies delivers manufacturing software systems that enable life science businesses to be compliant and competitive. The company combines pharmaceutical industry expertise and full life-cycle support, including managed services, with a portfolio of technology application and platform 
experience.

@ZenithIre #PAuto @GE_LifeSciences #PHarma

MES helps life sciences manufacturers move to production more quickly.

Emerson Process Management has enhanced the Syncade Suite manufacturing execution system (MES) to help life science manufacturers simplify the transfer of recipes and manufacturing information between project phases and system environments - from design through to validation and production. The new functionality automates the transfer of product recipes, material master information, and configuration settings, while also enabling users to archive the associated order execution information in a secure environment.

“Emerson continues to deliver strategies to help the life sciences industry quickly and accurately roll out projects without slowing the path to production,” says Michalle Adkins, Emerson life sciences consulting manager. “Using our enhanced functionality, project teams can eliminate the effort and errors associated with transcription effort.”

Time to market is critical in the life science industry. Implementing a product recipe typically requires time-consuming verification that the production system accurately reflects all the settings and configuration work implemented through the development and test process. With Syncade transfer and archive functionality, users achieve required accuracy and reduce rework by automating the transfer of information from the development environment, to the validation environment, and to the production environment.

In addition, the Syncade MES enables users to efficiently manage the archiving of orders, materials, and inventory data. Because archived information is stored in a database separate from the transactional database, users do not overload or slow down the database used for day-to-day operations. Current and past data can be searched and retrieved quickly.

Reporting software for MES and Life Sciences!

New Version Adds New Markets and Dozens of Enhancements

Ocean Data Systems has released version 4.6 of Dream Report. This major release addresses the Life Sciences (Pharmaceuticals and BioTech) markets, supports Manufacturing Execution System (MES) applications, and delivers many additional feature enhancements.

The Life Sciences market requires specialized functionality to meet 21CFRPart11. This release of Dream Report builds on the already existing robust security and adds audit trails, report version management, electronic signatures, pass/fail stamping and Lethality - F0 statistics to perfectly meet regulatory and Life Science application requirements. The development of reports pertaining to manufacturing execution and production scheduling requires an intensive level of Relational Database interaction. To address this, version 4.6 of Dream Report delivers a powerful Visual SQL Query Builder, and a special option permitting unlimited SQL data access. This release also delivers native integration with Yokogawa Recorder products, enabling both general purpose reporting and specialized Thermal Uniformity Survey (TUS) reporting for the Heat Treat industry. Lastly, over 25 other features, ranging from an updated 3D graphics engine to an interactive web portal have been either added or significantly enhanced. Visit our website for a full list of capabilities.

"An already great product has just become exceptional," said Roy Kok vice president of sales and marketing for Ocean Data Systems. "Our customers have worked with us to define this release and our team has delivered the functionality to perfectly address their needs. I can confidently say that Dream Report is the leading technology on the market for automated report generation in industry. The greatest challenge in automated report generators is that they are so difficult to configure and require the assistance of professionals. For that reason, reporting has been limited to the "Must Have" - typically compliance reports. Dream Report makes automated report generation so easy that you can have any report that you want, with minimal effort, anytime, anywhere and delivered to anyone, through hardcopy, PDF or an interactive web portal."

Collaborate in ExaScience Life Lab in Belgium

Lab will allow development of even more powerful supercomputers for life sciences research

Intel, imec and five Flemish universities (UA, UGhent, KULeuven, UHasselt, VUB) announced the planned foundation of the ExaScience Life Lab on the imec campus in Leuven, with which Janssen Pharmaceutica will collaborate in the future. The ExaScience Life Lab will combine Intel’s supercomputing expertise with Flanders’ extensive expertise in life sciences and biotechnology. The objective of the collaboration is to create new supercomputer solutions and generate breakthroughs in life sciences and biotechnology.

High performance computing can lead to new insights and breakthroughs in life sciences and biotechnology. As a result, the use of supercomputers will become as strategically vital as lab research. In the development of medical supercomputers, close collaboration with specialists in the field is becoming ever more important since this allows the additional computing power to be utilised to maximum advantage. That is why Intel, Janssen Pharmaceutica, imec and five Flemish universities have decided to join forces. During the coming months, Intel, Janssen Pharmaceutica, imec and the Flemish Universities will negotiate in good faith to establish the appropriate agreements in such respect.

The ExaScience Life Lab aims to boost research in the life sciences. Initially, the lab will focus on two fields of application. First, the lab will examine how supercomputers can accelerate the processing of entire genome sequences. Today, such an analysis takes approximately 48 hours, and with the expected explosion of genome data becoming available in the coming years, it is crucial to improve the efficiency of the computing process. A second application area of the ExaScience Life Lab will be to examine the use of computer simulations in the life sciences. Testing hypotheses through computer simulation both cells and tissues instead of through wet-lab testing saves considerable amounts of time and cost associated to lab tests.

The ExaScience Life Lab is conceived as an extension of Intel’s ExaScience Lab for High Performance Computing opened at imec in 2010.

“Intel has an extensive network of research laboratories in Europe. Once operational, the ExaScience Life Lab will be our European centre of excellence for high performance computing in the life sciences”, says Intel lab manager Luc Provoost. “The intended collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceuticals should enable us to build even more powerful supercomputers. We expect the lab’s joint research and development efforts to lead to major breakthroughs in the use of supercomputing for bioscientific applications.”

“It is our conviction that the ExaScience Life Lab will act as a catalyst in our aspiration to solve certain critical medical needs through technological innovation”, stated Gunaretnam Rajagopal, Janssen Pharmaceutica’ Head of computational sciences. “In the future, supercomputing will become a key force behind advances in life sciences.”

Flemish Minister of Innovation Ingrid Lieten pointed out that “Flanders enjoys an enviable reputation in the fields of life sciences, biotechnology and high performance computing, with a research-driven industry and highly skilled knowledge workers. The ExaScience Life Lab will stimulate collaboration between various disciplines and between the academic and the corporate world. It will establish Flanders as a leading region for supercomputing in life sciences. To achieve this, the ExaScience Life Lab will work closely with the Flemish Supercomputer Centre.”

Luc Van den Hove, President and CEO at imec, stated that “We are very excited about this unique collaboration with leading international companies such as Intel and Janssen Pharmaceutica, and with the Flemish universities. I have every confidence that by pooling our resources and expertise, the ExaScience Life Lab will achieve excellent results that will stimulate research and development in the life sciences. I would like to thank the Flemish government and IWT for their financial support to the ExaScience Life Lab. And I am looking forward to a productive and strategic long-term collaboration.”

Coriolis mass flow transmitter for food, life sciences etc

Industry-optimised sensors let users customize the Promass 100 for food, beverage, life sciences, pharmaceutical, chemical and other industries

The Promass 100 transmitter  recently introduced by Endress + Hauser can be combined with industry-specific sensors, materials and finishes so it can be used in food, beverage, life sciences, pharmaceutical, chemical and other industries.

It measures mass flow, volume flow, density, viscosity, concentration, and temperature with accuracy up to ±0.05%, and with immunity from process and environmental influences. All measurements are fully traceable as the flowmeter is certified on calibration rigs accredited to ISO/IEC 17025.

Seamless system integration is possible via EtherNet/IP and Modbus RS-485 digital communication (future 4-20mA with HART and PROFIBUS DP). Wiring is via an M12 plug, allowing easy and quick connections.

The flowmeter is approved for operation in Zone 2 and Class 1, Division 2 hazardous areas; and with the intrinsically safe Modbus output, it is approved for Zone 1 and Class 1, Division 1.

The wide range of industry-optimised sensors ensure accurate measurement and compliance with guidelines and regulations in different industries. The Promass 100 can be combined with a wide variety of Endress+Hauser’s sensors, and industry preferred fitting options, finishes and certificates are available.

For example, the Promass P 100 for the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries is a single-tube system designed specifically for sterile processes. It meets ASME-BPE 2009, ISPE, FDA, EHEDG and 3-A process codes and standards. The Promass P 100 features a self-drainable hygienic design that is cleanable on the inside and outside, and withstands CIP/SIP cleaning cycles.

The Promass S 100 for the food and beverage industries conforms to all 3-A, EHEDG and FDA requirements. It provides a gentle, non-invasive measurement of the product without causing shear force. It also is drainable and withstands CIP/SIP cycles with immediate return to normal operation, including high pressure or steam jet cleaning.

Other models include the Promass I 100, which offers an in-line viscosity measurements option, complies with 3-A requirements and is piggable, the Promass F 100 with ultimate measurement performance and secondary containment for use in pressures up to 580 psi and compliance with EHEDH and 3-A requirements, and the economical Promass E 100 used in legacy volumetric meter replacement applications.

Diagnostics and Commissioning
Clear categorisation of errors according to NE107 enables targeted reaction to any flowmeter or process errors. The entire instrument is constructed in a modular fashion, reducing downtime as service usually consists of just replacing the faulty module as directed by the diagnostic instructions.

The Endress+Hauser HistoROM™ data handling system reduces downtime significantly, as calibration data and transmitter parameters are stored and can be automatically reloaded after a maintenance or repair event. The HistoROM data handling system also provides local data logger and event logbook functionality.

The display-less Promass 100 can be commissioned either from the control room via a digital fieldbus communications link, or locally via any web browser as the instrument includes an embedded web server.

The web server allows a user with the correct password to connect to the flowmeter via any web browser without any additional tools, software or communication boxes. All that is required is a LAN network cable, and a laptop with a RJ45 network plug. Web server functionality includes full parameter access, upload and download of parameter settings, troubleshooting and diagnostics.

Pressure transmitters for gas, steam or liquids

New hygienic pressure transmitters are specifically designed to meet the needs of the food and beverage and life sciences industries.

Cerabar M PMC51 and PMP51 are new pressure transmitters from Endress + Hauser, suitable for accurate absolute and gauge pressure measurements in gases, steams or liquids, and for level, volume or mass measurements in liquids.

Standard accuracy is 0.15% with 0.075% accuracy available as an option. Long term stability is 0.1% of URL/year and 0.25% of URL/five years. (URL=upper range limit.)

The Cerabar M transmitters are available with ceramic or metal process isolating diaphragm seals which allow the sensors to work in temperatures up to 752 ºF or pressures up to 6,000 psi.

Outputs include 4-20mA, 4-20mA with HART, Profibus PA and Foundation Fieldbus.

A separate housing option allows the electronics housing with its optional LCD display module to be mounted up to 33 ft from the sensor to avoid problems with vibration, lack of space and high temperature, or if extreme cleaning of the measuring point is required.

In the separate housing version, no special end-user wiring is required. The sensor is delivered with the process connection and a socket. The electronics housing with a socket and a mounting bracket are supplied as separate units. The cable is provided with a socket at both ends. These cable sockets are simply plugged into the housing and the sensor.

A Cerabar M transmitter can be programmed to calculate level, volume and mass in any tank shape by means of a programmable characteristic curve that accounts for level, pressure, density of the medium and gravitation constant. The system can compensate for foam formation, agitators, screen fittings and liquid gases.

The intrinsically safe (Ex ia/IS) transmitters can be used in hazardous areas, including FM/CSA Division 1 installations. Options are available that make the transmitters suitable for gaseous oxygen, hydrogen and ultrapure gas environments, as well as paint shops.

Models include:
• PMP51 has a piezoresistive measuring cell and a metal welded process isolating diaphragm to handle pressures to 6,000 psi.
• PMC51 has a capacitive measuring cell and a ceramic process isolating diaphragm, and provides a metal-free PVDF connection

All versions are compliant with ASME-BPE, have 3A and EHEDG approvals, can be used for process pressure monitoring up to SIL2, and are certified to IEC 61508 Edition 2.0 and IEC 61511 by TÜV NORD.

Life Sciences summit

The inaugural Life Sciences International Summit (the Summit), which takes place on 11 November 2010 at Croke Park, will discuss Ireland’s potential for innovation and is expected to attract over 300 delegates including world-renowned opinion leaders, experts from pharmaceutical and fine chemicals sectors, firms producing diagnostic equipment, medical devices manufacturers and international venture capitalists.

The event is being hosted by Business & Finance Media Group and is partnered with IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, PwC, ByrneWallace and MSD.

Conor Walsh

The Summit will attract Former Harvard ‘Innovator of the Year’ Conor Walsh, who now lectures at the University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Ian Quinn, founder and Chairman of Creganna-Tactx Medical. Creganna-Tactx Medical is ranked among the top 10 global providers of outsourced design and manufacturing solutions to medical device companies and is Ireland’s largest indigenous medical device company.

The event – themed Towards 2020: Harnessing the Opportunities – aims to provide an overview of the challenges facing the global life sciences sector as well as critical insights into possible developments and solutions. The Summit will showcase Ireland’s considerable achievements to date in the international life sciences arena and what the country can continue to offer international investors as a global innovation test-bed for innovation.

Stephen Simpson, Director, Life Sciences, Science Foundation Ireland commented, “This is a unique opportunity in Irish terms to access a series of speakers of international renown whose reputation for imagination and technology-based business development is peerless.”

The inaugural Life Sciences International Summit (the Summit), which takes place on 11 November 2010 at Croke Park, will discuss Ireland’s potential for innovation and is expected to attract over 300 delegates including world-renowned opinion leaders, experts from pharmaceutical and fine chemicals sectors, firms producing diagnostic equipment, medical devices manufacturers and international venture capitalists.

Further investment in healthcare plant

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Mr. Batt O'Keeffe, T.D., shares a joke with Hollister employees Helena Cleary, Josephine Mangan and Michael McNamara at the Hollister Plant in Balina where the Minister announced a major €65m expansion at the company. Looking on is Minister for Labour Affairs and Public Transformation, Mr. Dara Calleary, T.D.

The Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe TD has announced Hollister ULC will invest €65 million in expanding its current manufacturing facility in the west of Ireland.  This major development project will add approximately 75,000 square feet to the company’s existing manufacturing facility in Ballina and will allow the creation of 250 new jobs upon completion. The expansion project will create in the region of 200 jobs over the period of construction. The investment is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

Hollister Incorporated is an independent, employee-owned company that develops, manufacturers, and markets healthcare products and services worldwide.  Expansion of the company’s Ballina facility will allow for increased manufacturing capability in both the company’s Ostomy and Continence Care product ranges.  The expansion will further support training and development for both new and existing employees.

Minister O'Keeffe said ‘The ambitious expansion plan will have an enormous economic impact on the west of Ireland, creating 250 new jobs and strengthening the region's manufacturing backbone. In addition to this a further 200 jobs will be created in the construction of the facility. 'Hollister has been part of the business community in Ballina for almost 35 years, contributing more than €52 million annually to the Irish economy including €40 million spent on salaries and materials sourced locally in the west of Ireland.. ‘

‘Ireland hosts 15 of the world's top 25 medical devices firms and Hollister's expansion plan demonstrates to the global investor community that our economic recovery is possible and we remain an attractive location for advanced manufacturing. I look forward to building on our strong relationship with Hollister and helping the firm to grow in Ireland,' concluded Minister O’Keeffe

All planning applications and related documentation for this expansion project have been submitted, and construction is planned to begin later this year.  The project is expected to be completed before the end of 2011.

In a prepared statement, Hollister Chairman and CEO Alan F. Herbert said, “Our decision to invest in this major expansion project in Ballina was made after very thoughtful consideration.  This is a key strategic initiative for our company, and the support we have received from local business leaders and IDA lets us know that we have made the right choice for the continued success of our company and for the people who depend on our products and services.  At Hollister Incorporated, our overriding goal and commitment is to make a difference—to add value to healthcare and to improve the quality of life for the people who use our products,” Mr. Herbert said.  “Throughout our company, we use the phrase ‘Making a Difference in the Journey of Life.’  That phrase is not just a marketing slogan; it reflects our company’s commitment to help healthcare professionals deliver better products and services and to make life more rewarding and dignified for those who use our products.  It also illustrates our commitment to Ballina and Ireland.  Our expansion here will not only help us to meet current market needs; it will also help us to meet the global challenges of the 21st Century.”

IDA CEO Barry O’Leary said, ‘Today’s announcement by Hollister clearly demonstrates Ireland’s continuing ability to secure high-end manufacturing investments in the Medical Technologies Sector. Hollister has had a strong presence in Co. Mayo since 1976 and the decision to increase its workforce here by a further 250 people and invest €65 million will further embed Hollister’s existing operations here while paving the way for further growth and transformation within the company’s Irish base. I would like to take this opportunity to offer IDA’s continued support to Hollister in its future development in Ireland.’

‘This investment will greatly enhance the development of the strong established medical devices cluster in Ireland and particularly in the West of Ireland with many of the world’s leading medical devices companies located in the region.’ He concluded.

Advancement in the field of metabolomics

Thermo Fisher Scientific is providing the Scottish Metabolomics Facility (ScotMet) with cutting-edge technology to advance the field of metabolomics. ScotMet is funded by the Scottish Universities Life Science Alliance (SULSA) and is a state-of-the-art facility run jointly by the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. The facility combines mass spectrometry, separations technology and bioinformatics. ScotMet, which already used Thermo Fisher instruments, will now install four Thermo Scientific mass spectrometers, including an LTQ Orbitrap™ Velos with ETD and FAIMS source, a DSQ-II GC/MS and two Exactive™ LC/MS benchtop instruments.

So what is metabolomics?
According to WIKI, Metabolomics is the "systematic study of the unique chemical fingerprints that specific cellular processes leave behind" - specifically, the study of their small-molecule metabolite profiles.[1] The metabolome represents the collection of all metabolites in a biological cell, tissue, organ or organism, which are the end products of cellular processes[2]. Thus, while mRNA gene expression data and proteomic analyses do not tell the whole story of what might be happening in a cell, metabolic profiling can give an instantaneous snapshot of the physiology of that cell. One of the challenges of systems biology and functional genomics is to integrate proteomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic information to give a more complete picture of living organisms.

More information from Thermo Scientific here!

The superior mass accuracy and sensitivity of the LTQ Orbitrap Velos, equipped with the multiple fragmentation modes available (CID, HCD, ETD and PQD), will allow researchers to rapidly accelerate their research. In addition, for high throughput metabolite screening experiments, the fast polarity switching of the Exactive allows effective data collection in positive and negative modes.

ScotMet is run by Dr Karl Burgess at the University of Glasgow. According to Dr Burgess, "Metabolomics allows us to understand relationships between the small molecules that drive biological systems, giving us insights into cancer and other serious illnesses. ScotMet had already implemented a Thermo Scientific LTQ Orbitrap and following the success of this instrument, we looked to Thermo Fisher Scientific to provide additional instrumentation.”

Dr. Dave Watson at the University of Strathclyde stated: “We’ve had excellent results over the past three years of undertaking metabolomics experiments with the Thermo Scientific LTQ Orbitrap, and the addition of the LTQ OT Velos, Exactives and GC/MS capability will expedite existing projects and extend the range of important biological and medical problems with which we can work.”

The executive director of SULSA, Dr. Jennifer Bell, explained, “Metabolomics is important to systems biology and systems medicine. ScotMet aims to provide a world-class facility staffed by experts in metabolomics who work closely with leaders in the fields of genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics to offer training, sample analysis and collaboration on experimental design and data handling. This advances the growing field of metabolomics and to support systems initiatives across Scotland.”

Vaccine temperature measuring system

MadgeTech has released the VTMS, a vaccine temperature monitoring system.
VTMS provides a solution for continuous temperature monitoring and data logging of vaccines or pharmaceuticals in refrigerators, freezers and coolers.

The VTMS system includes a N.I.S.T. traceable TCTemp2000 data logger with thermocouple, glycol bottle and a power supply. Additionally, the TCTemp2000 data logger in the VTMS system has a convenient LCD to ensure temperature parameters are met, in real time. The current reading, minimum, maximum and average statistics can all be obtained through the display.

In the real-time chart recording mode the VTMS can alert the user, or other personnel, via e-mail or text message if the refrigerator has failed, or if the temperature is outside of the nominal range. This allows users to take immediate actions to ensure vaccines and pharmaceuticals in storage are not destroyed. To prevent false alarms, the TCTemp2000 is connected to a Glycol bottle which provides temperature buffered readings.