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On September 25th, Shimadzu Corporation announced its investment in Sepragen Corporation (Headquarters: Union City, California), a leading company specializing in the manufacturing and sales of innovative bioprocess chromatography systems used in the production of biopharmaceuticals. In addition to this investment, Shimadzu has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Sepragen. Starting in November of this year, Shimadzu will exclusively market and service Sepragen’s products in Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, marking its entry into the growing biopharmaceutical market, particularly in the purification of vaccine and gene therapy drug manufacturing.

Sepragen Corporation, founded in 1985, brings 38 years of experience in the field of Process chromatography, with a track record of developing innovative technologies such as radial flow chromatography for enhanced efficiency and purification systems equipped with automatic buffer preparations units. Their product line including single-use parts improve customer ease, productivity, workflow and cost, demonstrating Sepragen’s strong expertise in product development backed by advanced technology.

Purification is a critical step in biopharmaceutical production, where impurities are separated and removed to extract the target components. This process relies on large scale chromatography systems and consumables such as columns and resins. The “bioprocess chromatography business” has been experiencing rapid growth, driven by the expansion of the biopharmaceutical market, with an average annual growth rate of over 10%. However, challenges remain in scaling up of such purification steps and in the analysis of critical quality parameters of target compounds, which are potential bottlenecks to ensuring a growing supply of biopharmaceuticals.

Shimadzu has a long-standing history of providing analytical and measuring instruments and technologies, such as liquid chromatography (HPLC), for research and quality control in the pharmaceutical industry. With this latest investment and partnership, Shimadzu can now offer comprehensive solutions from research and development to manufacturing in the pharmaceutical sector, including biopharmaceuticals. Moving forward, Shimadzu will create synergies between its analytical technologies and Sepragen’s biomanufacturing technologies, aiming to establish robust methods for analysis and evaluation within the purification process.

As outlined in its mid-term management plan, Shimadzu prioritizes the pharmaceutical market as a key segment and is committed to delivering total solutions for the biopharmaceutical industry. By continuing to collaborate with companies possessing unique technologies, Shimadzu will accelerate the deployment of new products and technologies into society, contributing to the rapid development and stable manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals.

About Sepragen Corporation