Merck KGaA joins vaccine project
Leading science and technology company Merck KGaA has joined the DiViNe project to create an integrated, cost effective purification programme specifically tailored for vaccines.
Merck KGaA, which is based in Darmstadt, Germany, joins the European consortium of six companies to address the biggest challenges facing the development, manufacture and delivery of vaccines.
Merck KGaA will focus specifically on simplifying the process of vaccine purification that typically relies on affinity chromatography, a method of capturing antibodies. In support of this goal, the company will be providing chromatographic materials and coupling technologies.
Udit Batra, chief executive officer (CEO) of the life science business at Merck KGaA, said: “Purification steps represent significant manufacturing costs for most biological drugs.
“In targeting these inefficiencies we have an excellent opportunity to drastically improve rates of recovery. As an industry leader in chromatography, we look forward to contributing our expertise to the DiViNe consortium, helping to identify process efficiencies and supporting expanded access to affordable vaccines.”
The DiViNe project’s integrated purification platform will first be tested with diverse, heterogeneous vaccines including glycoconjugates, protein antigens and viruses. Once validated with vaccines, the consortium plans to implement its purification platform in downstream processes for other biologics, including recombinant proteins, gene therapy vectors and blood products.
The project will be co-ordinated by Portuguese institute iBET and has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
