The completion of the Human Genome Project and the rapid progress in cell bi- ogy and biochemical engineering, are major forces driving the steady increase of approved biotech products, especially biopharmaceuticals, in the market. Today mammalian cell products ( products from cells ), primarily monoclonals, cytokines, recombinant glycoproteins, and, increasingly, vaccines, dominate the biopharmaceutical industry. Moreover, a small number of products consisting of in vitro cultivated cells ( cells as product ) for regenerative medicine have also been introduced in the market. Their efficient...

Over the past five years, the immense financial pressure on the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals has resulted in the increasing use and acce- ance of disposables, which are discarded after harvest and therefore intended only for single use. In fact, such disposables are implemented in all the main bioprocess production stages today and an even higher growth than those in the biopharmac- tical market is predicted (reaching double figures). Alongside disposable filter capsules, membrane chromatography units, tubing, connectors, flexible containers processing or containing...