Bio-Rad Laboratories – Foresight Pro

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Foresight Pro Prepacked chromatography columns

The ever-growing demand for novel therapeutics to treat diseases with unmet clinical need has led to a boom in the development of new biopharmaceuticals and vaccines, with the global biopharmaceuticals market expected to reach 650 billion USD by 2027. In order to keep up with demand, researchers are seeking to improve downstream processes to accelerate the development and manufacturing of novel biologics, without compromising safety, purity, or efficacy.

Chromatography: a Critical Step in Downstream Processing
A key step in downstream processing is chromatography; the selective recovery and purification of a molecule of interest from a background mixture of host cell proteins, debris, and cell culture by-products. In particular, multimodal chromatography, which combines multiple chromatography modalities into a single resin, enabling, in just one purification step, improved yield and purity of target proteins reducing both processing time and costs.

Prepacked Columns in Process Optimization
The implementation of ready-to-use prepacked chromatography columns has also had a dramatic impact on the efficiency and speed of downstream processes, reducing the risks for contamination and inconsistencies that may be introduced during manual packing, as well as saving time and eliminating the need for specialized packing equipment and expertise. 

Bio-Rad expanded its range of Foresight Pro Prepacked chromatography columns earlier this year, with the introduction of the Foresight Pro 45cm inner diameter (ID) - the largest in the range. The columns are specifically designed for use in any biopharmaceutical purification workflow, including in purification and polishing applications for vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and recombinant proteins. Foresight columns have a patented and robust column hardware design, maintaining the packed Ceramic Hydroxyapatite XT (CHT) media bed, ensuring high performance chromatography even after shipping and multiple cycles. 

The range of columns offer a flexible approach to chromatography; they are available in a range of diameters to facilitate easy process scale-up, and come backed with Bio-Rad’s CHT™ Ceramic Hydroxyapatite Media Type I, Type II, or XT, all of which are multimodal chromatography resins designed for large scale bioprocess applications. By prepacking the Foresight columns with its own media, Bio-Rad is able to offer its customers a convenient single-source chromatography solution, greater consistency, increased purchase security, and a warranty. 

Consistent Results to Meet Regulatory Requirements
All Foresight columns are manufactured and packed in a controlled ISO Class 7 cleanroom, ensuring compliance to good manufacturing practice (GMP) requirements, offering a standardized purification and polishing solution. The columns also come with detailed instructions and documentation, making them adaptable for easy use on a huge range of chromatography systems.

Regulatory guidelines for prepacked columns vary greatly depending on the country and the intended application of the columns. Column packing, performance, and compatibility with the target molecule must therefore be validated to ensure reliability and consistency. Bio-Rad’s comprehensive range of Foresight columns facilitates chromatography applications across multiple stages of biological drug development and manufacturing, meeting global regulatory requirements.   

Accelerating Biotherapeutic Development with Prepacked Columns
Foresight Prepacked Chromatography columns facilitate streamlined, scalable purification processes in biologic development workflows, reducing the risk of variability between columns, and ensuring reliable and selective purification. Used in combination with Bio-Rad’s CHT multimodal chromatography resins, the Foresight columns are driving the production of safe, cost-effective new therapeutics, while maintaining the purity and efficacy of biological products, bringing much-needed therapeutics to market faster.