Protein separations ­ 17% of total Amersham sales

Chromatography purification systems, membrane products and media used in the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals (any biologically-derived drug, eg. insulin, vaccines, DNA-based medicines, anti-sense DNA, growth factors, monoclonal antibodies, interferon), and for the laboratory scale separation of proteins for research and drug development.

Sales 2002: £276m

Operations

Headquarters in Uppsala, Sweden. R&D and manufacturing sites in Sweden and USA. Global sales and service organisation. The products are used in the manufacture of over 90 per cent of all biopharmaceuticals on the market. 1,950 employees.

Customers

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; scientists and academic centres of excellence doing protein research.

Market drivers

Growth in the number and volume of biopharmaceuticals
Increased focus on protein research

Competitive strengths

Clear market leader; high barriers to entry
Products designed-in to regulatory protocols
Strong reputation

Strategic focus

Enabling molecular medicine by providing systems for the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals and for laboratory-scale protein purification.

Key platforms, protein separations

Bioprocess systems Biopharmaceuticals are drugs based on active molecules such as proteins, peptides or DNA. Manufacture of these biological drugs requires the purification of the molecules on an industrial scale, which is done using large advanced chromatography systems comprising columns packed with separations media. We are the clear market leader in this area, with over 40 years of experience. Our columns include BioProcess™, Chromaflow™ and Streamline™ brands. Standard, customised and specially engineered systems are available.

Bioprocess ­ membranes Ultrafiltration and microfiltration membranes are used in bioprocessing to remove particles and impurities in biologically-based drugs ­ an essential step in the manufacturing process. Speciality products Through our OligoProcess™ products, we are leaders in the provision of large scale systems and reagents for manufacturing pharmaceutical-grade synthetic DNA/RNA for use in DNA-based medicines. Products also include microcarriers for large scale cell culture of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies.

Bioprocess ­ separations chromatography media There are more than 100 biopharmaceutical drugs on the market and another 500 in clinical development. Our separations media are used in manufacturing the vast majority of these medicines. Leading brands include Sepharose™, MabSelect™ and Source™.

Laboratory separations For research purposes, process development and pilot production, proteins are isolated and purified in the research laboratory on small-scale systems. Our ÄKTA™ platform of chromatography instruments, media and software is the gold standard in laboratory separations. The recently launched ÄKTApilot™ is a benchtop protein separations system that bridges the gap between laboratory and industrial manufacturing research, enabling scientists to carry out process development and small-scale production on the same unit.