SOMERSET, N.J., March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Wave Biotech, LLC, (www.wavebiotech.com), a research-based company focused on developing and manufacturing innovative process equipment for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, announced today that the Company’s disposable Wave Bioreactor(R) is in use by the biopharmaceutical company, Bavarian Nordic A/S, for a new vaccine production facility. The facility was built in a record-breaking eleven months, due in part to the use of Wave Bioreactor(R) large scale units. Production began at the Kvistgaard, Denmark based facility on July 4, 2005.
Vijay Singh, President and founder of Wave Biotech, LLC, commented, “The disposable Wave Bioreactor(R) units were delivered, installed, and commissioned in Denmark in a time period of less than three months. Our disposable cell culture technology is ideal for Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine application.”
The Wave Bioreactor(R) is a patented bioreactor for cell culture performed in presterilized plastic bags, called Cellbags(R), which are single-use bioreactors. Developed in 1996 with commercial units in operation since 1998, hundreds of units of the Wave Bioreactor(R) are in use worldwide, utilizing a wide variety of cells including CHO, NS0, hybridomas, HEK293, insect/baculovirus, adenovirus, T-cells, and primary human cell lines.
“The Wave Bioreactor(R) is very robust. There have been remarkably few operational problems,” said Rene Djurup, Chief Technical Officer and Executive Vice President for Technical Operations. The speed of the fast-track project was essential to Bavarian Nordic, which is participating in the US Government’s program to develop and acquire a safe smallpox vaccine based on the Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) virus. Dr. Djurup said, “The disposable technology saved between 6 and 9 months of time.”
“The Wave Bioreactor(R) is actually easier to use when compared to a standard bioreactor. With single-use containers, you don’t have cleaning validation which saves time,” commented Karen Wassard, Production Director for Bavarian Nordic. Adding that “it was plug and play, about from the first day.”
The new state-of-the-art vaccine production facility’s flexible disposable production technology, using the Wave Bioreactor(R) units will enable Bavarian Nordic to adjust quickly and smoothly to produce other vaccines when required.
About Wave Biotech
Wave Biotech is a research-based company that develops and manufactures innovative process equipment for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The Company’s focus is on developing disposable bioprocessing equipment. Key products, such as the Wave Bioreactor(R), WaveMixer(R), FlexMixer(R), and Sterile Tube Fuser, feature disposable contact materials that eliminate cleaning and validation, thereby reducing costs in operations ranging from cell culture, media preparation, and buffer dissolution and thawing process intermediates to patient specific cell therapy in hospitals. These unique, patented, devices can be installed and commissioned rapidly, thereby drastically reducing the time-to-market for biological products. For additional information visit: www.wavebiotech.com
About Bavarian Nordic:
Founded in 1994, Bavarian Nordic A/S is a leading international biopharmaceutical company developing, producing and marketing innovative vaccines to prevent and treat infectious diseases and cancer. With operations in Denmark, Germany, and the USA, Bavarian Nordic employs over 200 people and is listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. Bavarian Nordic’s patented core technology, MVA-BN(R), is one of the world’s safest, multivalent vaccine vectors for the development of vaccines against various infectious diseases such as smallpox, HIV/AIDS, as well as against breast, colon and prostate cancer. For more information visit: www.bavarian-nordic.com
Wave Biotech, LLC
CONTACT: Daniella Kranjac, Vice President, Sales & Marketing of WaveBiotech, LLC, +1-732-302-3100; or Elizabeth Dempsey Becker, Director,Public Affairs & Communications of Bavarian Nordic, +45-33-26-83-83
