3M Puts $146M into Biopharma Filtration Technology

3M plans tol invest $146 million to expand its capabilities to support biotech manufacturing, a growing area of health care that's bringing breakthrough therapies to patients.

Biotechnology is the use of biological processes, and living organisms, to create products. Biotech manufacturing is extremely popular, especially in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

The investment will include facility and equipment improvements as well as an additional 60 jobs in 3M manufacturing facilities in Europe.

The new investment will accelerate 3M's development and delivery of vital filtration equipment designed for bioprocessing, biological and small molecule pharmaceutical manufacturing applications, which will enable biotech customers to continue to innovate therapies used for the treatment of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and certain cancers. Filtration and purification is essential in manufacturing biopharmaceutical drugs. The process uses a unique filter material that captures impurities while allowing the necessary drug substances to pass through.

"Our investment further demonstrates 3M's continued market leadership and ongoing commitment to customer-centric innovation in health care," said Robert Befidi, president, 3M Separation and Purification Sciences Division. "Our technologies improve the lives of people all over the world, and we are helping biotech customers do more, faster, to advance their specialized medicines." 

3M offers a comprehensive portfolio of depth filters for cell culture clarification in the biopharmaceutical industry. Zeta Plus depth filtration technology, in cartridge systems and sheets, play an important role in the clarification of cell-derived protein therapeutic products around the world.