Singapore, Dec 2, 2009: Sartorius Stedim Biotech, a provider of state-of-the-art equipment and services for the biopharmaceutical industry, presents an innovative system for pre-configured single-use solutions to meet process requirements: FlexAct.

Supporting the latest trends in biomanufacturing, FlexAct will enable biomanufacturers to utilize integrated single-use equipment for entire biomanufacturing steps in upstream and downstream processing. As a full-fledged workstation, FlexAct offers new possibilities for designing efficient and flexible production processes by using out of the box disposable unit operations. This new level of integration and standardization makes it easy for anyone who still uses stainless steel equipment or individual disposable components to convert to single-use unit operations.

FlexAct BP, the first member of a whole new series that Sartorius Stedim Biotech is launching, is designed for preparation of buffers that are essential for stabilizing target molecules and providing for their optimal production conditions. In biopharmaceutical processes, buffers, such as sodium phosphate, Tween and Tris, are particularly used in cultivation and fermentation as well as purification to maintain pH, salt content and other parameters of biologics within a desired range.

The FlexAct BP system is based on a multifunctional central operating module (COM), which accommodates pre-configured single-use assemblies and, moreover, a pump and a control unit. FlexAct BP addresses the entire development cycle and production capacity needs from 50 to 1,000 liters for buffer preparation. The integration of monitoring and control features for pH, temperature, pump speed and fluid level control reflects a new milestone for implementing process-relevant analytical tools.

The integrated controls enable users to perform other tasks during the buffer preparation process without the need to supervise the system. In combination with a Flexel LevMixer system and multiple Palletanks, the multifunctional COM lets users install, operate and monitor a unit operation completely based on single-use components.

FlexAct makes it easy for users to find the right application-specific combination straight away: they can choose from a range of fully pre-configured system solutions. The standardized single-use components utilized in FlexAct harmonize and simplify validation and procurement.

Sartorius Stedim Biotech will soon introduce additional FlexAct solutions for media preparation (MP), cell harvesting (CH), ultrafiltration/diafiltration (UF/DF) crossflow, virus removal (VR), virus inactivation (VI), virus adsorption (VA), polishing (P), form /fill (FF) and for form/transfer (FT).