Phage Consultants to focus at ISBioTech 2018 on saving fermentation facilities

Gdansk, Poland: – Specialist Polish-based CRO Phage Consultants (PC) will attend the International Society for BioProcess Technology’s Waterside Conference on the in Norfolk, Virginia next month to present new insights into bacteriophage contamination and highlight its decontamination services.

For the fifth time in the event’s six-year history, Phage Consultants CEO Dr. Marcin Los is an invited speaker, focusing on his specialist area of bacteriophage contamination.

Burn it down?

Dr. Los will ask: ‘Phage Contamination in a Fermentation Facility: What Can be Done, Except for Burning it Down, to Stop the Phage?’ as part of the Contamination Control track on Day One of the Conference (1145-midday, November 12).

Dr. Los will tell the conference that facilities can be saved and decontaminated, but there is an effort needed to be ready for more fundamental changes than just cleaning and decontamination of the facility.

However, he will also show that prevention is much cheaper and less problematic than cure.

Dr. Los will also show how bacteriophages have bacteria-like abilities to evolve and mutate and therefore present even more threat than one might expect, as they may evolve and adapt to the host and the process, but also to harsh environmental conditions.

Contamination control

“This is a superb event for anyone interested in biotech protein production and contamination control,” Dr. Los Noted.

“We hope to use this year’s ISBioTech Fall Meeting to educate people about phage contaminations in bioprocesses – how to recognize them, how to deal with them and how to prevent them,” he noted.

“Once again we will also be showing how bacteriophages are not just enemies but also potential allies in our ongoing war against contamination with real potential to exploit the power of ‘phages to combat bacterial contaminants in aquacultures,” he added.

“These are messages that are particularly relevant to fermentation managers seeking to keep their processes clean and contamination-free,” said Dr. Los, but also to all people struggling with protection of animals from bacterial problems.

About Phage Consultants

Phage Consultants is a contract research and manufacturing organization that specializes in bacteriophage detection and characterization and production.

Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect bacteria. First discovered around 1915, phages play an important role in viral biology, used to elucidate DNA viral reproduction through lytic and lysogenic cycles. They have been used for almost a century as alternatives to antibiotics and can have therapeutic effect against multi-drug-resistant strains of many bacteria.

Founded in Gdansk, Poland, in 2007, PC have become world leaders in using the power of bacteriophage technology in bioprocess infection and contamination control and assisting companies whose production is based on microbial activities in preventing bacteriophage contamination, along with bacterial, fungal and viral contaminations.

Phage Consultants are also specialists in the field of bacteriophage biology with specific expertise on phage activity in bioprocessing. Its team provides unique assistance to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, offering a range of services from personal training to consulting and process optimization in phage growth limitation. The company also advises and assists clients in the development of new production facilities.

About ISBioTech Fall Meeting 2018

The International Society for BioProcess Technology (ISBioTech) was established in 2010 to advance process and analytical techniques, making the latest bioprocess technology readily available to organizations developing and producing biopharmaceuticals worldwide.

The society holds two meetings a year in fall and spring.

The society’s sixth Fall Meeting is entitled The Waterside Meeting, celebrating its return to the Waterside Center in Norfolk, Virginia, where the first ISBioTech meeting was held in 2012. It is a three-day event opening November 12.

The meeting focuses on production of therapeutic proteins and now features five tracks, on Process Analysis & Automation, Expansion & Expression, Contamination Control, Cell Line Characterization and Raw Material Science.

ISBioTech is organized by International Society For Bioprocess Technology with more information available at: https://www.isbiotech.org/waterside2018.