MilliporeSigma Opens Technical Support Center

With a stated goal of helping emerging biotech companies accelerate biomanufacturing processes, MilliporeSigma announced on June 5, 2018 the opening of the BioReliance End-to-End Biodevelopment Center in Burlington, MA, to provide cell line development services, upstream and downstream process development, and non-GMP clinical production for drug manufacturers.

The center, which provides hands-on experience and technical consultation for biopharmaceutical development process and manufacturing phases, is designed to help small biotech companies keep their assets in house longer, Andrew Bulpin, executive vice-president, head of process solutions, MilliporeSigma, told Pharmaceutical Technology.

The center is the first for the company in North America. Other centers are located in Martillac, France, and Shanghai, China.

In another initiative to facilitate development of biotech companies, MilliporeSigma announced an expansion of its Advance Biotech Grant Program. The grant program will award a €200,000 ($232,000) in services and products to six companies annually to address process development challenges; three recipients will be announced every six months. Winners are selected based on the scientific and societal merit of the therapy in development and process challenges and expertise gaps that may impact ongoing development, according to a June 5, 2018 press statement.

The company has awarded grants to emerging biotechs globally since 2015.

Source: MilliporeSigma