Novasep announces an investment of €30 million to build the largest chromatography plant at its Mourenx site in France used for the production of commercial active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). The plant is designed by an in-house engineering team and will be operational and validated in Spring 2014.

The plant will include Varicol^® continuous chromatography technology systems with 1,200-mm diameter columns operated at up to 70 bars, the largest ever built in the pharmaceutical industry. It will enable the production of a highly purified API from a complex mixture.

The systems will also integrate sophisticated solvent recovery systems for the recycling of 99.9 % of solvents, resulting in both a very cost-effective and environmentally friendly process.

• Novasep, Pompey, France