Merck Millipore to provide process development services to Precision Biologics

Merck Millipore has signed an agreement to provide upstream process development services for the clinical-stage biotechnology firm Precision Biologics.

The deal will see Merck Millipore provide process development through its Provantage Services offering to help the client design and develop custom processes that improve yield and productivity, while reducing costs and accelerating time to market.

Precision Biologics is aiming to advance the development of its preclinical monoclonal antibody NEO-201, which has demonstrated therapeutic potential across multiple cancer types, including colorectal, lung, ovarian and pancreatic.

The process development will occur at Merck Millipore's single-use GMP biodevelopment center in Martillac, France.

Udit Batra, president and chief executive officer of Merck Millipore, said: "Our Provantage team is committed to developing an efficient, effective and robust manufacturing process to help reduce the time and cost required to advance this important pre-clinical drug candidate into the next phase for clinical production."

This comes after the firm launched its new AFS 40E, 80E, 120E and 150E water purification systems last month.