Key Facts:
- Rockwell Automation has announced a partnership with PBS Biotech, a manufacturer of single-use bioreactor systems, to embed Rockwell's automation technology into PBS Biotech's MiniPRO™ multi-parallel bioreactor platform.
- The MiniPRO™ platform features up to 24 independently controlled bioreactors and uses FactoryTalk® software and the Process Library to deliver real-time process control, with the ability to integrate into a larger PlantPAx® distributed control system (DCS) for whole-facility automation.
- The partnership aims to address key industry challenges faced by Advanced Therapeutic Medicinal Products (ATMP) organisations, including low-throughput workflows, manual processes, and variability that slow progress towards commercialisation.
- The Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI) was an early adopter of the platform, reporting that the integration of Rockwell controls streamlined system integration and enabled the building of larger manufacturing lines.
- PBS Biotech has demonstrated that process performance on the MiniPRO™ is consistent with its larger-scale bioreactors, supporting more predictable transfers into Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) settings and helping to reduce risk during scale-up.
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, has announced that PBS Biotech, a leading manufacturer of single-use bioreactor systems, embedded Rockwell Automation technology into its multi-parallel bioreactor platform to accelerate cell therapy process development and support seamless scale-up to commercial manufacturing.
Advanced Therapeutic Medicinal Products (ATMP) organisations face growing pressure to accelerate process development while enabling scalability, reproducibility and regulatory readiness. Across the industry, low-throughput, iterative workflows, manual processes, non-standardised environments and dependence on proprietary or PC-based systems slow progress, introduce variability and increase risk as therapies advance toward commercialisation.
To help its customers overcome these challenges, PBS Biotech partnered with Rockwell Automation to embed standardised, globally recognised automation in its MiniPRO™ platform - a closed, automated bioreactor system with up to 24 independently controlled bioreactors that enables parallel process development. The platform uses FactoryTalk® software and the Process Library to deliver integrated, real-time process control and visibility within a scalable automation environment that can seamlessly integrate into a larger PlantPAx® distributed control system (DCS) used to automate an entire cell-therapy facility.
"Rockwell technologies let us provide industrial-grade control of critical process parameters, so users are generating high-quality process data in an environment that looks and feels like commercial manufacturing," said Sharon Harvey, director of product management and strategy, PBS Biotech. "That's really advantageous because developers are able to introduce this during the product development stage and then evolve towards clinical and commercial manufacturing with history and control."
The Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI), a member-based, nonprofit organisation whose mission is to advance the bioeconomy of the United States, was an early adopter of the PBS platform.
"Typically, you don't see this control in a system as small as the MiniPRO," said Tom Bollenbach, chief technology officer at ARMI. "With our first integrated manufacturing line, our biggest challenge was getting the process control system to sequentially hand off between subsystems. Because the MiniPRO has Rockwell controls, system integration is streamlined. When we talk to the supervisory system that makes hand-offs happen, it's very easy to get them to talk to each other. That enables us to build bigger manufacturing lines."
PBS Biotech has demonstrated that process performance on the MiniPRO is consistent with its larger-scale Vertical-Wheel® bioreactors, allowing developers to generate manufacturing-relevant data as programs advance. That continuity, combined with the platform's compatibility with widely used automation environments, supports more predictable transfer into Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) settings.
"As cell therapy programs advance, seamless tech transfers between development outputs and manufacturing requirements help reduce risk during scale-up," said Matt Weaver, vice president, global industry - life sciences, Rockwell Automation. "By introducing a widely used automation platform during process development, the MiniPRO helps teams preserve process knowledge and control as they progress toward clinical and commercial manufacturing."
To read the full PBS Biotech case study, visit this page.
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