Pharmaceutical Business review

Merck introduces single-use reactor to accelerate ADC manufacturing

The single-use reactor specifically designed to manufacture antibody drug conjugates. Credit: Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and/or its affiliates.

A rapidly advancing class of therapeutic agents, ADCs target and selectively eliminate tumour cells while sparing healthy ones.

Dubbed Mobius ADC Reactor, the offering is engineered to meet the specific requirements for linking ADC components. This approach will aid biopharmaceutical companies to manufacture critical therapies more efficiently and safely.

The company noted that traditional ADC production relies on stainless steel or glass reactors, which require costly and labour-intensive cleaning processes.

Single-use technology offers lower costs, risks, and greater flexibility and speed.

Despite these advantages, adoption in ADC manufacturing is claimed to have been limited due to unique chemical compatibility and quality demands.

The Mobius ADC Reactor is said to address these challenges, providing quick turnaround times, reduced cross-contamination risks, and high product quality.

The single-use assemblies of the reactor are constructed with Ultimus Film technology, offering superior bag strength, enhanced durability, and improved leak resistance.

Merck’s comprehensive range of solutions for ADC manufacturing includes Mobius single-use systems for chromatography and tangential flow filtration (TFF) used in closed-mode operations, combined with consumables namely the Pellicon capsule.

Merck Life Science business process solutions head Sebastian Arana said: “We have been providing single-use solutions for flexible biopharmaceutical manufacturing for more than 15 years. Drawing on this extensive experience, we are now ready to accelerate the production of antibody-drug conjugates.

“The launch of the Mobius ADC Reactor will support our customers to bring much-needed therapies to a global population.”