Baxter Healthcare Apply The Automation Partnership’s Robotics Technology to Help Produce New Generation of Influenza Vaccine

(Cambridge UK, Sept 30, 2002)  The Automation Partnership (TAP), suppliers of advanced automated systems to the Pharmaceutical & Biotech industry has been selected by Baxter Vaccines, a subsidiary of Baxter Healthcare Corporation, to supply automated cell culture systems to produce a new generation of Influenza vaccine.

TAP is supplying three CellmateÔ systems, two for Baxter’s new Czech vaccine plant in Bohumile near Prague, the third system is destined for Baxter’s second new European vaccine facility, in Krems, west of Vienna, Austria.  The systems will be used in the production of the new Influenza vaccine InfluJectÔ, which will be the world’s first Influenza vaccine to be produced using mammalian cell culture rather than live chicken eggs.

Dr Wolfgang Mundt, Head of Process Development at Baxter Vaccines, commented, “We will be using Cellmate in conjunction with our established Vero cell technology for the provision of consistent, high quality fermenter seed stocks.  Cellmate has been selected for its established track record and reliability, and will reduce lead times through direct scale up without the need for process change.”

Traditionally Influenza vaccines have been very time consuming to produce, using millions of eggs to slowly breed the antigens that trigger protective immune system reactions.  The Cellmate systems are being implemented to automate the build up of cells used as an inoculum for the fermentation stage of the process.  The manufacture of Influenza vaccine using cell culture provides the purity that is required for safe biologicals and negates problems such as allergies to egg.  This new method of manufacture will ensure that the vaccine is free from contaminants such as traces of avian proteins, thiomersal, antibiotic additives and adventitious agents.

Commenting on the contract, Natalie Carrick, Cell Biology Application Manager at TAP, said, “This is a very exciting project to be involved in and we are delighted that Baxter have selected Cellmate technology to help reduce InfluJect’s time to market.  TAP has been at the cutting edge of automated cell culture for well over a decade and during that time Cellmate has built a formidable reputation for quality, reliability and consistency.  To date we have installed seventy five systems to leading Pharmaceutical & Biotech companies throughout the world, for use in the production of human viral vaccines, recombinant proteins, therapeutic proteins and gene and tissue therapies.”

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For more information, please contact

Matthew Walker		James Parkinson
The Automation Partnership (Cambridge) Ltd		STMP Marketing Solutions Ltd
York Way, Royston, Herts, SG8 5WY, UK		Meadowside, Mountbatten Way, Congleton, CW12 1DN, UK
Tel: +44 1763 227200 Fax: +44 1763 227201		Tel: +44 1260 296500 Fax: +44 1260 296501
matthew.walker@automationpartnership.com		james@stmpmarketing.com

About The Automation Partnership

The Automation Partnership is a world leader in the design and development of advanced industrial automation solutions for the life science industry.

With a successful track record in automating and integrating processes for cell culture, compound and sample management, liquid handling and ultra high throughput screening, the Company continues to develop and implement market driven automation solutions to meet the discovery, development and commercial challenges of the 21^st century.

The company’s systems are installed worldwide at leading life science companies such as Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Centre National de Génotypage, GlaxoSmithKline, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Merck and Procter & Gamble.

Originated in 1988, The Automation Partnership is a private company with over 180 staff in Europe and the United States.  The company’s headquarters and production and development facilities are located in Cambridge, England, with a US sales and support office in Wilmington, Delaware. 

Additional information about The Automation Partnership can be found at www.automationpartnership.com.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc. is a global medical products and services company that, through its subsidiaries, provides critical therapies for people with life-threatening conditions. Baxter's products and services in the areas of bioscience, medication delivery and renal therapy are used by health-care providers and their patients in more than 100 countries. In addition to vaccines, Baxter's BioScience business develops and produces therapeutic proteins from plasma and through recombinant methods to treat hemophilia, immune deficiencies and other blood-related disorders, and biosurgery products.