Improved Purification of Biopharmaceuticals

The pharmaceutical industry is undergoing a major change: most new drugs are in the form of relatively large biological molecules instead of small synthetic compounds. However, to make biological pharmaceuticals available for everyone in the world, we must produce them simpler and cheaper. The challenge is to separate one particular type of biomolecule, the drug, from a very complex mixture (the cell culture).

We have invented an electrically responsive surface which can be used to capture the target drug specifically and efficiently. Furthermore, it can be released again very precisely by electrical control. This controlled release (elution) removes the need to use extra chemicals. Additionally, the electrical elution is less likely to negatively influence the biopharmaceutical by better preserving its structure and biological activity.

Our technology is implemented by our startup Nyctea Technologies which designs new chromatography columns to be used in downstream processing.