First PAK System Delivered to HQ

Fairfax, VA – PAK BioSolutions, Inc. received its first automated system for continuous purification of biopharmaceuticals from the automation integrators today.  The company will use the summer to expand automation capabilities and extensively test the system in-house.  “We are very excited to have the system on-hand and enter the next phase of our work,” said President and Founder Joanna Pezzini.  “After spending so many hours in the design process, it’s amazing to have the equipment here to test.  The automation group did a fantastic job helping us make our vision reality.”

The Pilot PAK system is designed for continuous purification of 50 to 500 liters of cell culture per day.  The system integrates instrumentation, pumps, and valves with a single use flow kit assembly.  A single system can perform up to four purification steps simultaneously, including virus inactivation, chromatography, filtration, inline concentration, and diafiltration.  PAK BioSolutions’ unique automation system manages flow from one step to the next and controls the mass flow rate of the entire process. 

In order to achieve the company’s goal of an end-to-end continuous purification system, an extensive number of components are connected to a single automation controller.  An entire purification suite has been reduced to a single system the size of a standard desk.  “You can achieve an 80% footprint reduction with this style of a continuous process,” said Vice President and co-founder Kevin Hill-Byrne.  The PAK system has 36 valves, 8 pumps, 8 pH or conductivity meters, 4 pressure sensors, 4 scales, 2 UV meters and 2 mass flow meters.  All instrumentation fits neatly into PAK BioSolutions’ deceptively compact proprietary flow kit and tray, which makes the system appear simpler than it is.