On the cutting edge

SOMERSET, N.J.—LabVantage Solutions recently announced the release of LabVantage 8.3, the newest version of its laboratory information management solution (LIMS) software, noting that it is the first to offer a GxP-compliant solution for data integrity and auditing, to help drug manufacturers conform to the FDA draft guidance on “Data Integrity and Compliance with CGMP.” The new Dynamic Auditing feature of the LabVantage LIMS platform reportedly ensures that companies are able to meet current and proposed regulatory guidance regarding the management of data in temporary memory.

“LabVantage is the only LIMS provider in the market today to proactively update our software to offer a solution for data integrity and auditing,” said Ram Velidi, president of LabVantage Solutions. “We continue to deliver on our promise to customers to provide state-of-the-art technology that is second to none and is at the leading edge of laboratory information management solutions and the evolving regulatory landscape.”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—The Florida State University (FSU)-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory will be home to a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) Biomedical Technology Resource Center that will develop unique instrumentation for innovative biomedical work in high magnetic fields to combat diseases like Alzheimer’s and tuberculosis. To create the center, the National MagLab will receive a $5.8-million grant from the NIH.

The MagLab is already home to several world-record magnets, including the strongest magnet in the world for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)—the new 36-tesla series connected hybrid. But researchers need more than high magnetic fields to tackle the world’s most important biomedical questions. The new center is funding the development of cutting-edge tools that will amplify the MagLab’s magnets.

“We’re pleased by the NIH’s investment in research at the MagLab and believe these funds will help propel our scientists’ work in biomedical research forward as they seek to better understand complicated diseases that affect millions of people,” said Gary K. Ostrander, FSU vice president for research.

The center’s innovative instrumentation will be in the form of probes, complex mini-electronic devices that hold biological samples while they are loaded into a magnet. These new state-of-the art probes will help scientists see the molecular structure and chemistry of proteins that cause diseases.

CENTER VALLEY, Pa.—In mid-October, Avantor, a global supplier of ultra-high-purity materials for customers across the life sciences and advanced technologies sectors, announced the opening of a new life-sciences research and applications laboratory in the GwangGyo district in Suwon, South Korea. The Avantor Korea Laboratory will help biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical customers improve the efficiency of their purification processes, with an initial focus on helping them optimize Avantor’s high-performance resins, buffers and other materials used in their production systems.

“We created the new Avantor Korea Laboratory to enable more collaboration with our customers in Korea’s fast-growing life-sciences industry,” said Devashish Ohri, executive vice president, APAC and MEA, for Avantor. “Our goal is to help optimize process efficiency and yields, solve drug development bottlenecks and create integrated solutions to address customer business objectives.”

EWING, N.J.—This fall saw Bio-Ess Laboratories and FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies collaborate on a study which reportedly has shown that Cell-Ess Universal Titer Boost allows for the replacement of serum in influenza virus production in MDCK cells.

Influenza remains a significant human pathogen due to the seasonal antigenic drift of virus isolates, which results in the need to frequently change the vaccine formulation. There is a desire in the vaccine industry to identify serum-free alternatives for viral production; however, previous known efforts for serum-free media have led to poorly growing cells that produce less lipidated or enveloped viral particles.

According to the companies, Cell-Ess has repeatedly been shown to increase monoclonal antibody titer and improve antibody glycosylation in multiple previously optimized serum-free systems.

“The unique lipid delivery technology of Cell-Ess has been shown to improve a variety of cell functions,” says Allan Weber, Bio-Ess Laboratories CEO. “We welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, an industry-leading CDMO in viral products development and manufacturing, to study the effects of Cell-Ess on viral production.”