MilliporeSigma, the life sciences division of Merck KGaA, has launched VirusExpress 293 Adeno-associated virus (AAV) production platform, which it says reduces process development time by around 40%.

According to MilliporeSigma, the launch of this specific AAV production platform makes the firm one of the first contract development manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) to provide a complete viral vector manufacturing offering, including AAV, CDMO, lentiviral, CTO, and process development.

Additionally, the firm said that the Virus Express 293, which is an extension of the company’s VirusExpress offering, can speed time to clinical manufacturing while simultaneously decreasing costs and development time.

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“Our VirusExpress platform can reduce process development time by up to 40 percent, based on our experience as a CDMO,” Dirk Lange, head of life science services, life science business sector at MilliporeSigma told BioProcess Insider.

“This is possible by leveraging our proven VirusExpress upstream process, which simplifies the production workflow of AAV and lentivirus, making processes easier to manage, adjust and scale.”

As well as speeding up process development time, MilliporeSigma said that because the platform works by offering a “simplified upstream workflow” for the manufacture of AAV and Lentivirus, the entire process is more manageable, adjustable, and scalable.

Furthermore, the firm said the platform has suspension culture to allow larger batch yields and, therefore, more patient doses. Another benefit of the platform is that it is less

labor-intensive and the chemically defined cell culture media removes the regulatory, safety, and supply-chain worries that are often associated with animal and human derived materials.

Companies who use MilliporeSigma’s service offerings will also receive flexible licensing, which allows clients to produce vectors using its production capabilities, in-house development, or a third party.