GE Healthcare launches sterile genderless connector
Medical technology service provider GE Healthcare has bought the exclusive rights to a disposable technology offering designed to improve the simplicity of cleaning methods.
The Disposable Aseptic Connector (DAC), developed by US-based disposable device provider BioQuate, aims to reduce complexity for customers by reducing parts inventory and requires no unique operator skills, power, calibration, or servicing. It increases efficiency and decreases time-to-market by eliminating cleaning and validation steps through use of its ready-to-use and single-use disposable technologies in biomanufacturing.
The licensing deal includes further agreements with Pall Corporation, settling Pall Corporation's patent infringement lawsuit with BioQuate. GE Healthcare and Pall have entered into mutual patent licensing agreements that will enable both companies to further develop their respective disposable connective technologies.
‘These agreements build on our acquisition of Wave Biotech and our launch of the ReadyToProcess portfolio. With our ready-to-use offering, we're committing to saving customers' time, operating expenses and increasing speed, flexibility and capacity of production,’ said Nigel Darby, chief technology officer, Life Sciences at GE Healthcare.
‘I am very pleased to join forces with GE Healthcare to bring genderless, disposable aseptic connectors to the market. GE Healthcare has a significant history in the market and will provide a vehicle to bring our DAC connection technology to a broad range of applications as well as providing a worldwide channel to the biotech market," said Ted Johnson, CEO BioQuate.
GE Healthcare's new ReadyToProcess portfolio is designed to meet the biopharmaceutical industry's need for increased speed, simplicity and safety for all areas of bioprocessing, from cell culture and fermentation to final purification. As part of GE Healthcare's strategic development of disposable and ready-to-use biopharmaceutical processing technologies, the products available today in the ReadyToProcess portfolio includes single-use WAVE TM technologies and a set of newly-developed, ready-to-use filtration and chromatography tools.
ReadyToProcess technologies allow considerable advantages over conventional methods used in bioprocessing, including: higher project throughput and shorter time-to-market due to the elimination of cleaning and cleaning validation steps, elimination of cross contamination problems and reduced training and certification of employees due to the convenience of a ready-to-use format.