100% uptime and high yield for treatment of millions

Since signing an Alfa Laval Service Agreement, the biopharma company has enjoyed 100% production uptime. Consider that 12 batches are produced each month with harvesting volumes of 1,900 litres per batch. Each batch of clarified conditioned media contributes to more than a million doses of biosimilars, biologic products with no clinically meaningful differences from FDA-approved reference products. Imagine the millions of cancer patients who benefit from a service agreement guaranteeing uninterrupted clarification of conditioned media for biosimilar production.

Reliable biosimilars clarification and predictable product quality

A dedicated Alfa Laval service agreement manager works closely with biopharma counterparts to optimize production uptime by analyzing, forecasting and managing parts inventory on site. The service agreement ensures operational reliability during clarification, verifying that the separators are in the same condition as when initially validated.

“Our customer knows we are constantly working to improve operations,” says Mr. Sathyamurthy, Regional Service Manager, Service Operations – South, India, Alfa Laval. “Whether extending equipment service life through timely wear parts replacement or training staff to take advantage of our enhanced connected services, we always strive to do our best.”

Promoting a preventive maintenance mindset

The company produces cancer biosimilars at the main production facility on a 14-day cycle, the time required for cell culture fermentation. The fluid then flows through the BTPX high speed separators for four to eight hours a week, removing cell debris and other contaminants to clarify the fermentation broth. Maintaining the separators at regular intervals – every three months for intermediate service and once a year for major service – ensures product quality and patient safety.

Complete control over maintenance budget

The service agreement gives the company full control over its maintenance budget. Alfa Laval conducts routine maintenance and manages the company’s parts inventory, providing onsite access to genuine spare parts, such as service kits and axial seals, and easy access to critical spares, like the bowl spindle and worm wheel. The company also receives all the necessary documentation for parts replacement, eliminating the need for revalidation.

Partnership for greater health equity

Increasing access to affordable cancer treatment calls for trust and transparency. Based on measurable savings, optimized maintenance routines and maximum uptime, the global biopharma company continues to entrust Alfa Laval with all scheduled maintenance activities and parts and inventory management. Besides renewing its BTPX separator service agreement every year, the company has service agreements for two additional separators on different processing lines.