Merck presents biochromatography resin of a new performance class

Merck KGaA is presenting Eshmuno™ S, a new-generation chromatography resin for biopharmaceutical applications, at the Biological Production Forum in Düsseldorf from June 24 to 26, 2009.

The new cation exchanger Eshmuno™ S was specifically developed by Merck for purification of monoclonal antibodies (mABs). James Easson, Marketing Manager at Merck, says: "With Eshmuno™ S we are responding to the wishes of our partners in the biopharmaceutical industry. New possibilities are now available to those seeking to increase efficiency and reduce costs in biomolecule purification processes." This statement is confirmed by extensive studies.

New standards for chromatography

Eshmuno™ S sets standards with respect to binding capacity for antibodies. Thanks to optimized tentacle adsorption, its binding capacity is increased to about 150% compared with other surface-grafted cation exchangers. In addition, a hydrophilic polyvinyl ether base matrix specifically designed by Merck for chromatography allows higher flow rates - thus speeding up biopharmaceutical processes. Both factors - tentacle adsorption and base matrix - increase productivity by up to 500% compared to other soft-gel ion exchangers.

The use of Eshmuno™ S instead of a protein A-based capture step can reduce purification costs by up to 30%. Eshmuno™ S can be safely packed into production-scale biochromatography columns by simple flow packing, axial compression or using water. This reduces both costs and development times for the biopharmaceutical industry.

Suitable for Eshmuno™ S, Merck offers a portfolio of column sanitization chemicals under the brand name EMPROVE® bio. These comply with current regulatory requirements. Besides this, the numerous EMPROVE® bio products also offer safety along the entire biopharmaceutical process chain.

Tried and tested and available immediately

Eshmuno™ S is immediately usable and available for the capture step and intermediate purification (after protein A) of monoclonal antibodies (mABs) and biomolecules. Merck is presenting the new resin as the first product of the new Eshmuno™ product group.

Source: Merck KGaA