Thermo Fisher Scientific and Symphogen, an affiliate of the antibody center of excellence within the international pharmaceutical company Servier, have extended their collaboration to provide biopharmaceutical discovery and development laboratories for efficient characterization of complex therapeutic proteins.
 
Since the collaboration began in 2018, Symphogen has adopted new instruments and software to improve data quality and processes to develop, test and routinely implement platform workflows for intact and native mass analysis of therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb) mixtures.
 
Most recently, the implementation of the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris MX Mass Detector allows for a high level of data confidence and an efficient workflow, with seamless method transfer from development instruments. This new system adds to Symphogen’s range of High-Resolution Accurate Mass (HRAM) mass spectrometry technologies, including the Thermo Scientific Q Exactive Plus Orbitrap Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) system and the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris 240 and 480 Mass Spectrometers.
 
These systems will be controlled using the Thermo Scientific Chromeleon Chromatography Data System (CDS) software, allowing secure, remote operations and data processing from anywhere in the world, providing working flexibility and improved data protection.
 
“The extension of our collaborative relationship with Symphogen demonstrates our continued commitment to solve tangible scientific challenges within the biopharmaceutical industry,” said Eric Grumbach, director biopharma, pharma business, chromatography and mass spectrometry, Thermo Fisher. “Further investment in this collaboration enables critical insights that feed directly into the development of new analytical tools, providing meaningful impact to the characterization of complex biotherapeutics.”
 
Dan Bach Kristensen, principal investigator, Symphogen, added, “Mass spectrometry is playing an increasingly important role in biopharmaceutical development at Symphogen, as exemplified in 2021, when we analyzed over 10,000 biopharmaceutical samples by intact mass analysis on our Orbitrap mass spectrometers. A multitude of separation techniques are now routinely hyphenated to our mass spectrometers, providing unrivalled insight into product quality, from early discovery to late-stage clinical development.”