Air Products (NYSE:APD), a global leader in industrial gases and cryogenic technology, and Sublime Stericeuticals Corporation, a process design and equipment manufacturer serving the pharmaceutical industry, today announced plans to collaborate and develop a proprietary sublimation and desorption technology for a continuous freeze-drying system for vaccine and drug solutions. Under a joint development agreement (JDA), Air Products' proprietary cryogen delivery and liquid nitrogen spray freezing technology will be used in combination with Sublime's process design to spray crystallize vaccine and drug solutions in a continuous sterile lyophilization freeze drying environment.

"The development of a continuous solution for pharmaceutical manufacturers fits well with our commitment to help our customers improve productivity and quality across product applications. We anticipate that the product resulting from this JDA will allow pharmaceutical manufacturers to rapidly produce and preserve high-value materials without compromising on yield or viability," said Francesco Maione, president, Americas at Air Products. "This solution could also introduce a process flow that allows larger manufacturers to be more agile and establish more production options."

Freeze-drying, or lyophilization, is regularly used to preserve biological products such as vaccines and antihemophilic proteins. It is also used to stabilize biopharmaceuticals, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and cell extracts. Solutions containing the ingredients are freeze-dried inside vials, and later reconstituted. Common quality-related process issues today often greatly affect the final yield and cost to produce these products.

"With this collaboration we plan to address the challenges that pharmaceutical manufacturers have with long lyophilization processing times, coupled with less than certain process outcomes. It's the culmination of years of research and first-hand industry experience. Our collaboration with Air Products will be key to completing a successful commercialized development," said Shawn Stimson, vice president of Process Development for Sublime.