TAKE Solutions to launch 'track and trace' supply chain management tool

TAKE Solutions Pte Ltd, a technology enabled business solutions company with leadership in supply chain management and life sciences, will soon be launching 'track and trace', a supply chain management tool.

Speaking to BioSpectrum, S Sridharan, managing director, Take Solution Pte Ltd said, "The companies in life sciences and pharmaceuticals have to adopt Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), an automatic identification method to cut the distribution cost. Even the FDA guidelines say its mandatory for them to adopt RFID by 2008. A few Indian companies have already adopted this. We see a good market potential for this in the near future."

TAKE Solutions recently launched Submit SPL software that helps life sciences companies to easily manage XML data conversion to be compliant with the Structured Product Labeling (SPL) standard of the US FDA. Sharing his views on Submit SPL, Sridharan said, "About 300 labels were submitted to the FDA for approval in the last three months. These labels were produced using our product."

TAKE has over ten products addressing the SCM and manufacturing space. TAKE Solutions that has operations in the USA, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bahrain with an employee strength of 370, posted revenue of Rs 44.07 crore for the year ended March 31, 2005 as against Rs 14.91 crore for the previous year.

Sartorius secures key technology for disposable bioreactors

Sartorius AG and the US-based Fluorometrix Corp, a spin-off of the University of Maryland, have concluded a licensing contract that gives Sartorius exclusive use of Fluorometrix patents in the field of disposable sensors for bioreactors. The addition of disposable sensors for detection of multiple parameters completes the Sartorius portfolio of technology for the development and construction of disposable bioreactors. Sartorius has plans for implementing these sensors as platform technology in other new products as well. "We have secured a strategic advantage for Sartorius in the rapidly growing market for disposables. The current technological challenge for the creation of disposable bioreactors lies in the use of disposable products for all components of the system – including measurement and control units. The new disposable sensors complete the chain and ensure that in this year we will be one of the first companies to introduce a completely disposable reactor," said Reinhard Vogt, senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Sartorius biotechnology division.

The bioreactor is at the core of every biotechnological production process: this is where microorganisms are bred under controlled conditions and either their cells or the products of their metabolic processes are harvested for use in the manufacture of pharmaceutical agents. Up to now, virtually all reactors on the market were reusable systems. Sartorius has been working on the development of bioreactors as disposable systems to meet the stringent requirements of the pharmaceutical industry regarding safety and hygiene.

Waters enhances BA software for quantitative and qualitative research

Waters Corporation has announced a new version of its ProteinLynx Global SERVER software, including enhancements to Waters Protein Expression System. Waters ProteinLynx Global SERVER (PLGS) 2.2.5 software features new tools allowing researchers to identify and quantify proteins and biomarkers more efficiently.

Waters Protein Expression System, featuring PLGS, was the first commercial product for cost-effective and practical quantitative proteomics without the use of isotope labeling technologies. PLGS 2.2.5 extends this breakthrough technology with improved algorithms for efficient protein quantification and identification across large patient/sample sets or time-course studies.

A new quantification module in PLGS allows quantitative data to be generated at the protein or peptide level using any of the commercially available or user-defined labeling technologies such as SILAC, AQUA, ICAT or iTRAQ. The ability to perform both 'label free' and 'isotopic labeling' approaches now means that PLGS provides unparalleled flexibility to analyze proteomics samples of varying type and complexity.

PLGS 2.2.5 provides a 'step change' in the ability to identify proteins efficiently in complex samples by incorporating a new algorithm, which enables identification of proteins from MS E data (E - elevated collision energy) acquired from a Q-Tof type mass spectrometer. In an LC/MS experiment, a proprietary and patented 'parallel' peptide fragmentation protocol is employed to provide a 100 percent duty cycle on all detectable peptides in a protein digest. This new approach results in significantly higher sequence coverage and confidence in protein identification than traditional 'Data Dependent Acquisition' (DDA) MS/MS methods.

Agilent Technologies introduces new mass spectrometer product line

Agilent Technologies has introduced an entire portfolio of chromatography-based mass spectrometry (LC/MS) systems that is expected to nearly double its LC/MS market share by 2008. The new Agilent 6000 Series LC/MS portfolio is expected to set a new standard in price-performance, reliability and ease-of-use that will transform productivity in the laboratory.

The Agilent 6000 Series will include five classes of instruments, including the company's first triple quadrupole (triple quad) and quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometers. With these additional instruments, Agilent now will be able to address nearly 70 percent of the estimated $1.3 billion LC/MS instrument market - more than double its current market opportunity. The 6000 Series also includes improved versions of Agilent's single quadrupole, ion trap and time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometers.

"We are applying the same strategy to succeed in the LC/MS market that we used to become a leader in gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry," said Chris van Ingen, president of Agilent's life science and chemical analysis business. "We are introducing products that match or exceed the highest performance in the industry, while also providing a level of reliability and ease-of-use that will make customers' work easier, increase their productivity and expand the breadth of applications for which they can use each product."

Each of the new LC/MS instruments includes the following three features that are unique to Agilent: its proprietary autotune technology which automatically calibrates the instrument with the click of the mouse, optimizing for sensitivity and mass accuracy; compatibility with Agilent's multimode source and HPLC-Chip technology; and Integrated LC and MS software for instrument control and data analysis.

Pall, Biotrace ink global marketing pact

Pall Corporation has entered into an agreement with Biotrace International Plc giving Pall exclusive global marketing and distribution rights to the range of Ascotec environmental air monitoring products for the pharmaceutical industry. As part of the worldwide agreement, the two companies will also work together on the development of additional innovative products for the rapid detection of contamination. Microbiological monitoring of manufacturing processes is critical to ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and product safety.

The Ascotec products are used to monitor the quality of the air and compressed gases in the production environment. They are used wherever clean rooms are required for manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, personal healthcare products and cosmetics and in other clinical environments such as hospitals to reliably capture bacteria in the environment for subsequent monitoring. The agreement will provide industry the ability to access the Ascotec air monitoring technologies to better enable them to achieve the goals of the US FDA Process Analytical Technology (PAT) initiative. The PAT initiative encourages manufacturers to adopt new analytical technologies to better control manufacturing processes and provide greater assurances of product safety.

"The addition of the Ascotec air sampler to our rapid microbiology platform, including the Pallchek monitor, gives customers around the globe access to a proven technology that meets the most stringent clean room standards. It is an ideal complement to our capabilities in process and environmental monitoring technology and aligns with our business strategy to be a total solutions provider for the biotech and pharmaceutical industry," said Ken Frank, president, Pall Biopharmaceuticals.

Ian Johnson, CEO of Biotrace, said, "The combination of Pall's filtration technologies and know-how with our technologies and expertise in rapid microbiology will create the next generation of fast testing solutions reducing the 'time to result' and improving production efficiency."

Aseptic Technologies, Sartorius sign distribution agreement

Aseptic Technologies SA, an affiliate of GSK Biologicals based in Les Isnes, Belgium, and Sartorius AG based in Goettingen, Germany, announced the formal launch of a business partnership and exclusive global distribution agreement for a novel aseptic liquid transfer system developed by Aseptic Technologies. The system comprising an optimized transfer port and disposable presterilized connection device facilitates risk-free transfer of sterile liquid to and from a contained area, with a minimal amount of ergonomic manipulation. The connection system has been successfully developed and validated to allow transfer of sterile liquid through any type of walls that separate two areas with different levels of containment. The various applications include transfer from an external area to a cleanroom, transfer from within a cleanroom to isolators used as barriers or transfer inside incubators. The principle is based on the La Calhène concept of the transfer port and uses a gamma-sterilized connection device consisting of a plastic hose barb connector inside a removable protective sheath. The opening of the port inside the contained area releases only the sterile part of the device, allowing easy and safe connection of tubing and transfer of liquid. The device can be installed on various container types such as gamma-sterilized containers (eg, collapsible bags) or steam-sterilized con tainers (eg, stainless steel and glass vessels). Under the terms of this agreement, Sartorius will hold the exclusive rights to market and distribute Aseptic Technologies' sterile liquid transfer system on a global basis. The companies will also commit resources to jointly develop the products to meet ongoing market expectations.