MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany a leading science and technology company,announced the acquisition of MAST (Modular Automated Sampling Technology) platform from Lonza AG (Basel, Switzerland). The MAST platform is an automated, aseptic bioreactor sampling system designed to advance bioprocessing capabilities for more efficient and cost-effective drug manufacturing. The MAST platform was developed in Bend, Oregon. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
“Today biopharmaceutical companies are under immense pressure to get products to patients faster. The acquisition of the MAST platform adds fully automated sampling to our bioprocessing portfolio,” said Andrew Bulpin, Head of Process Solutions, Life Science business sector of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. “This technology, coupled with the software to analyze and manage data, allows us to offer unique and integrated solutions to help customers optimize their bioprocesses. The MAST platform moves us closer toward our vision of connected and continuous bioprocessing to increase speed and lower costs,” said Bulpin.
The MAST platform enables the gathering of more frequent samples and collection of real-time data, including product attributes in hours instead of weeks, compared to manual sampling. The average cell culture process can save more than 80 hours of labor generally required for sample collection, handling, and analysis. Additionally, one MAST® platform unit can collect samples from up to 10 bioreactors and connect them to four primary analyzers.
Upon closing the deal, the MAST Platform will be part of MilliporeSigma’s BioContinuum™ Platform: It includes the Bio4CSoftware Suite, a first-of-its-kind ecosystem that combines process control, analytics, and plant-level automation for GMP manufacturing. The Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany is the first life science business to converge advanced process technologies with software, automation, and analytics into one ecosystem, moving the biopharmaceutical industry another step closer to the digitally enabled facility of the future.
“The Life Science business sector’s established experience implementing real-world data into its projects will enable it to further unlock the potential of the MAST platform that Lonza has worked diligently to develop. With this divestment, we remain focused on our broad Bioscience offering, providing our customers with the tools to develop, manufacture and test therapeutics from basic research to the final product release,” said Jean-Christophe Hyvert, President, Biologics and Cell & Gene, Lonza.
The acquisition of the MAST platform is another milestone to accelerate innovation in the Process Solutions business unit, one of the company’s three growth engines (“Big 3”), through targeted smaller to medium-sized acquisitions with high impact. The deal follows the acquisitions of Exelead, a CDMO specializing in complex injectable formulations, including Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP) based drug delivery technology, in January and AmpTec, a CDMO, with expertise in PCR-based mRNA technology, in 2021.