Life sciences technology major has developed a bio-processing tool for monoclonal antibodies (MAb) manufacturers. The new simulation tool will offer the preliminary sizing information at various stages of the process. From filter sizing and chromatography to virus clearance, users can identify specific MAb process requirements within a few minutes. Besides it will also offer information on capacity, permeability and throughput of devices used in different unit operations of monoclonal antibody manufacturing. Further, the sizing tool is also helpful in facility designing without having real life data.

"We have been the first to realize the importance of targeted MAb drugs at least three decades ago. The company has partnered with leading Mab manufacturers worldwide. This has helped to garner the maximum expertise in this area in terms of knowledge, experience and support capabilities. In fact, we have worked on the maximum number of Mab projects which has led us to have the expertise in terms of processes, tools and technologies," Dr Priyabrata Pattnaik , head, Process Development Sciences Group Millipore India told Pharmabiz in an email interaction.

Millipore assists some of the largest manufacturers of MAbs world wide and holds a pre-eminent position in terms of market share, processing skills and expertise for these complex molecules. The company has been involved with almost every kind of monoclonal antibodies at every stage from development to scale up and production. The benefits of speed to market for these highly targeted drugs in the treatment of diseases that cannot be treated or managed with conventional drugs are obvious. It is this experience that has been leveraged for the development of this tool, he added.

The sizing tool for MAb was introduced last month and is one-of- a- kind in the world. The simulation tool is economical in terms of time. It is convenient for initial sizing calculations.

Globally and in India MAb is a high potential area. According to estimates, the global market in 2001-02 was $3.8 billion and valued at around $20 billion in 2009. This is one of the most lucrative sectors in the bio-pharmaceutical industry. Some of the leading global MAb manufacturers are Zenentec, Centacore, Roche, Amgen, Biogen-Idec, Wyeth, and Johnson & Johnson. The Indian manufacturers are Biocon and Dr Reddys. Other Indian companies working on MAb but not yet in manufacturing phase are -Zenotech, Reliance, Avesthagen, Serum Institute.

On the kind of marketing strategy to the adopted to tap the Indian MAb market with the new sizing tool, Rajiv Juneja, executive general manager, Corporate and Marketing Communication, Millipore India said that this technology is a comprehensive and complete simulation model for bio-processing sizing at an early stage. MAbs are difficult molecules to work with, requiring a lot of support. For maximum optimization, the new sizing tool has to be integrated with the expertise of our technology support group. To begin with we will focus on making our customers and new prospects aware of this tool and get them to use and be comfortable with it.