Sartorius Stedim Biotech Expands PAT Portfolio by Adding Sensor Technology for Real-Time Biomass Measurement

Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB), a leading international supplier for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, has entered into a global sales and development partnership with Aber Instruments (Aber), a Welsh company for bioprocess and brewing equipment. Aber is a highly specialized supplier of sensor technology that is used by the biopharmaceutical industry for in-line biomass measurement in cell cultivation and fermentation processes.

Based on this cooperation, SSB has secured exclusive global marketing and distribution
rights to Aber‘s single-use sensor technology for the biopharmaceutical market. As agreed,
Aber will supply SSB with measuring instruments. SSB will manufacture the biomass sensors under license, integrate these into its single-use bioreactors and exclusively market these products in a dual-branding arrangement. New single-use sensors will be developed by both companies.

SSB has continuously expanded its process analytics portfolio over the past years in the area of single-use sensors to enable real-time, non-invasive measurement of critical process parameters such as pH, dissolved oxygen content, temperature, glucose, lactate and biomass. “Single-use sensors make our disposable bags even more intelligent,” comments Stefan Schlack, Senior Vice President of Marketing at SSB. “They deliver real-time information about the progress of cell culture processes and help biopharmaceutical customers to understand their processes even better and further optimize them – a decisive competitive advantage.“

In-line biomass sensors enable precise and reproducible information to be obtained on the progress of a fermentation process, without having to take samples and analyze these in the laboratory. As a result, cells are not unnecessarily exposed to stress caused by manual sampling and contamination risks are eliminated. In conjunction with SSB‘s existing PAT and software solutions, biomass sensors represent high-performance tools for modeling and optimizing biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing processes, as well as for further accelerating development times.

Dr. John Carvell, Sales and Marketing Director at Aber Instruments, is pleased about collaborating with SSB: “Based on SSB’s global sales and distribution network, we can make our technology accessible to an even wider group of customers. SSB has in-depth expertise in single-use technology and is thoroughly versed in bioprocesses. Together with our profound knowledge of in-line biomass measurement, both companies stand to benefit from the joint development of new sensors.”