Donaldson RTP facility to support recent bioprocess acquisitions

Fresh from buying Isolere Bio and Univercells, Donaldson has opened a 25,000 square-foot life sciences technical center in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina.

“Our new Life Sciences Technical Center in Research Triangle Park has been launched as part of a multi-million-dollar capital investment plan to advance and accelerate our growth in Bioprocessing,” Veli Kalayci, general manager of Bioprocessing Consumables at Donaldson, told BioProcess Insider.

The facility aims to support the design, development, launch and early commercialization of bioprocessing solutions using Donaldson’s life science portfolio. This includes the IsoTag reagent product line, added through the acquisition of Isolere Bio back in February.

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“Our new facility acts as the center of excellence for our IsoTag technology that uses recombinant proteins to capture biologics of interest in solution,” said Kalayci. “These reagents are engineered for small and large-scale downstream purification of broad spectrum of biologics including AAV [adeno-associated virus], LV [lentivirus], and a growing list of target molecules.”

There are also synergies between the IsoTag reagents and other product lines recently acquired by Donaldson, he added, including Univercells Technologies’ fixed bed bioreactors used for adherent cell lines, and Purilogics’ membrane chromatography devices that offer a path to separation of empty and full capsids. Donaldson acquired Univercells in July for $148 million; Purilogics joined the family in June 2022.

“This new center presents us a streamlined R&D environment to explore and build on these synergies to offer more comprehensive bioprocessing solutions to our customers.”

Donaldson’s bioprocess ambitions

Donaldson’s presence in the bioprocess space is being led by an aggressive M&A strategy. Beyond Isolere, Univercells, and Purologics, Donaldson snapped up tangential flow filtration firm Solaris in 2021, and according to Kalayci there is likely to be more to come.

“We are focused on commercializing disruptive technologies that offer bioprocessing customers measurable advantages in the manufacturing of biologics used in mRNA, cell and gene therapies,” he said.

“In a rapidly evolving world of new modalities, and treatments for diseases that were once thought of impossible to treat, our customers value what our technologies can offer them including yields, processing speeds and product quality, stability and purity. With our distinct competitive advantages, we look to double our life sciences business to ~$450 million by FY26.”

The North Carolina site currently has 25 employees but has room to more than double, said Kalayci. Donaldson is also actively recruiting globally to support its growing life sciences business segment.