Insulin

With diabetes on the rise and the global insulin market estimated to be worth more than $32 billion by 2018, demand for GEA technologies for the production of this life-saving drug is already high and set to increase, particularly in new markets and emerging economies.

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State-of-the-Art Solutions

GEA produces and supplies process systems for the production of liquid products for the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, and has a proven history of successfully installing plant for the production of insulin, including the engineering, delivery, commissioning and qualification of entire ultra-pure media systems as well as various process equipment and cleaning installations.

A worldwide technology leader in insulin production, GEA is able to supply the clean utility systems and manage the integration of all the main processes, including fermentation, harvesting, chromatography, filtration and freeze drying.

From Fermentation to Freeze Drying

The biosynthetic production of human insulin is done using bacteria or yeast cells. Following fermentation, or the conversion of chemical raw materials by micro-organisms, the biomass is extracted using a nozzle separator, washed, concentrated and finally precipitated to produce insulin crystals.

Centrifuges and process lines provided by GEA have an established pedigree in the clarification, separation, classification, concentration and fractionation steps. Nozzle separators also play an important part in the production process. Further, GEA chamber or self-cleaning separators can be used in the subsequent crystallization stages.

GEA is a single-source supplier of a variety of fermenters, media preparation, buffer storage, harvesting and cell rupture solutions, equipment for the purification and isolation of cells, separation (after both first and final crystallization), the production and distribution of WFI, CIP and freeze drying technologies, all of which can be installed and integrated into a state-of-the-art insulin production facility.