Vyripharm Enterprises Inc. (VEI), a Texas biopharmaceutical/biotechnology company based in the Texas Medical Center (TMC) in Houston, and ABB Robotics, a leading global technology company headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, have signed an agreement towards the development of an automated laboratory testing platform.
The platform will enable quality control of raw material to novel pharmaceutical compounds using a unique and comprehensive platform developed to allow certification of the tested samples against established standards. This fully automated robotic platform will be the first of its kind and will support the capture of data for use in research and development efforts within industry and health institutions.
“We are very happy to work together with Vyripharm to advance and automate its quality process,” said Dr. Jose Collados, Line Manager for ABB Life Sciences and Healthcare Robotic Solutions. “ABB’s automated solutions will enhance process productivity and sample traceability which, when combined with Vyripharm’s process and software, will improve productivity and optimize processes, substantively advancing the future of patient care.”
Under the terms of the partnership, VEI will provide process definition, intellectual property (IP), equipment, software and associated funds. ABB will provide state of the art automation software and robotics to demonstrate the operational function of the integrative platforms. Two beta sites, located in Texas and Colorado, are currently under construction and are expected to be operational in 2023, with other locations planned throughout the U.S. and internationally.
John W. Shadle, RPh, Managing Director, QA/QC of VEI said, “The rapid growth of the biopharma supply chain has produced a need for standardized testing to assure that the methods and instrumentation used in the testing process produce equivalent results across different laboratories. VEI has developed a process and protocol to achieve that goal. We look forward to working with ABB to bring this concept to fruition, and to make it available for use throughout the U.S. and the world.”
In 2019, ABB opened its first dedicated global life sciences and health care research facility (ABB Life Sciences and Healthcare Solutions), in the Texas Medical Center (TMC) Innovation Institute. ABB Life Sciences and Healthcare Solutions hopes to bring advancement to the life sciences and healthcare industries, covering pharmaceutical and medical device production, and laboratory automation. ABB Robotics collaborates with the medical community to co-develop innovative automation technologies that help hospitals and laboratories improve productivity and optimize processes. The collaborative effort between ABB and VEI, brings this concept to reality in the biopharma industry, advancing public health care and safety. Implementation of this process will support quality, capacity, and cost of operations improvements within the industry.
“With new upcoming legislation being submitted in Congress for review, it is critical that a solid Regulatory Framework for the testing, tracking, tracing, certification and verification of all U.S. novel pharmaceutical products be established in order to protect U.S. citizens and provide standardization throughout all points of the U.S. industry supply chain for novel pharmaceuticals,” said Dr. Elias Jackson, Sr. VP of Government and Scientific Affairs for Vyripharm Enterprises. “ABB Life Sciences and Healthcare Solutions is the leader in the integration of automation across the Life Sciences supply chain. We are excited to partner with ABB in this effort.”