PerSeptive Biosystems Inc. has signed an agreement with Eli Lillyand Co. to co-develop an on-line monitoring system that willanalyze identity, purity and concentration of biopharmaceuticalproducts during manufacturing.Robert Fein, PerSeptive's senior vice president of corporate strategyand finance, said his company already has created the on-linetechnology and will use the collaboration with Lilly, ofIndianapolis, to adapt it to an industrial setting.Current monitoring techniques are conducted off-line and requiremanufacturing down-time, Fein said. Test samples are drawn frombatches of the product being produced, he added, and informationconcerning quality and consistency is limited.Fein told BioWorld the Real-Time Process Monitor developed bythe Cambridge, Mass.-based PerSeptive Biosystems analyzes theproduct "every 15 to 30 seconds," enhancing quality andconcentration.Financial terms of the agreement between Lilly and PerSeptiveBiosystems were not disclosed. PerSeptive will make and marketthe monitoring system. Lilly will co-develop the final specificationsof the monitoring technology and the software and will test thesystem."This is the first step in a series of steps that can change the waybiopharmaceuticals are manufactured," Fein said. _ Charles Craig

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.