GEA supports Chinese COVID-19 vaccine production in Beijing Sinovac Life Sciences partnership

26 Nov 2020 --- GEA is supplying aseptic separator systems for COVID-19 vaccine and other pharmaceutical production to Chinese biopharmaceutical company Beijing Sinovac Life Sciences through an expanded partnership. 

The continued collaboration is motivated by the urgency to find and safely commercialize a COVID-19 vaccine in large quantities.

“GEA’s aseptic line is in high global demand from vaccine manufacturers and there are very few comparable products,” Dr. Michael Golek from GEA corporate media and press tells PackagingInsights.

The GEA aseptic C pharma separator centrifuge skid units meet the highest hygienic pharmaceutical requirements with sterilizing-in-place (SIP) and cleaning-in-place (CIP) cleanability – “essential” for vaccine production, says GEA.

Safety first
With safety top of mind, aseptic C delivers a “new level of performance” with a wide capacity range of four bowl sizes. The machines feature a water-cooled motor with integrated direct drive (IDD). 

A closed housing design prevents particle emissions entering the cleanroom. Fewer parts mean fewer wearing parts and easier machine maintenance.

Depending on the product, the four bowl sizes can process up to 12000 l/h. The bowl design is created with a highSigma variant, providing a large clarifying area and space for small solids for up to 5 percent volume. 

Click to EnlargeGEA Pharma Separator skid aseptic C with fully automatic SIP (Image credits: GEA).A highVol separator bowl variant, granting space for larger solids, is suitable for solids up to 10 percent volume. This enables an optimal yield by adapting to the respective product to be processed, says GEA.

By including an ASME BPE design, automatic SIP and CIP, as well as secure biocontainment, the aseptic C line prevents toxic bacteria or living germs from escaping to the exterior.

Remote functionality
Throughout the packaging industry, machinery that was once operated manually is finding ways to function remotely due to pandemic-induced physical distancing measures.

Golek explains the aseptic separator system is fully automated and can run both at the skid and from a central process control room. 

The near-to-overnight shift has caused several supply chain disruptions, particularly in the bakery packaging sector, as recently explored by PackagingInsights.

In April, GEA aimed to maintain operational flow with the launch of GEA Remote Support – a service providing real-time streaming with GEA experts. 

From their own production locations, customers can use a commercially available mobile device to connect and communicate in real-time with a GEA expert to resolve any issues. 

Click to EnlargeIncluded features of the GEA aseptic C.Continuing the partnership
This July, the GEA business unit for separation and flow components technologies delivered a CSC 6 centrifuge to Sinovac Life Sciences. 

Developed to meet cGMP requirements, GEA manufactured the CSC 6 machine in a steam sterilizable version (SIP up to 2.5 bar/137°C) for aseptic processing. 

Just as the current aseptic C line, the CSC 6 has a fully automatic on-site CIP cleaning program while being designed in a hygienic, highly polished design. 

The hydrothermetic inlet system ensures gentle treatment of shear-sensitive products and the plant is driven by a three-phase alternating current motor.

In other GEA developments, the company initiated a pilot trial of industrial connectivity company Weidmüller’s Automated Machine Learning Software at its Oelde site in Germany. This was GEA’s early 2020 bid to increase its efficiency and productivity through data collection and analysis and establish new business models. 

By Anni Schleicher

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