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  3. [2022-02-01] Cytiva new partner in Mistra SafeChem
News | 2022-02-01
A woman working in a laboratory, some packages in the front.

Cytiva new partner in Mistra SafeChem

A new industry partner has joined Mistra SafeChem: Cytiva, a global provider of life science technologies and services. The programme's work in chemical toxicity and the life cycle-based tool for assessing high-capacity alternatives both attracted Cytiva to participate.

– We are very happy to welcome Cytiva as a new industry partner in the Mistra SafeChem programme. With their contributions, we will be able to expand our work with the development of the toolbox for design phase hazard/risk assessment to cover additional substance groups focussing on predictive tools for reactivity predictions and their relationships to toxicity and hazards. Another benefit for the programme is that we broaden our base of cooperation with industry and thus our potential for impact of our research, says John Munthe, programme director.

Cytiva, originally a division of GE Healthcare with roots in Pharmacia, was formed in 2020 as a standalone company. Its offerings include research, biopharma solutions, bioprocessing, and cell and gene therapies. Cytiva is active in about 40 countries and has 1 800 employees in Sweden. At their facility in Uppsala, technology is produced for the manufacturing of biological drugs that are exported to pharmaceutical companies in over 160 countries.

Why did Cytiva choose to join Mistra SafeChem?

– We took a closer look at the industrial chemical processes used in our manufacture of chromatography resins. We want to render these processes more sustainable by reducing the toxicity of some of the chemicals used. One of the first steps was to identify alternative "green" chemicals to replace the more toxic ones. The requirement that the substitutes remain "green" in the future is crucial for the investment. Therefore, the development of a framework for early prediction and verification of potentially dangerous properties is of utmost interest to Cytiva, says Ismet Dorange, research and development manager at Cytiva.

He also mentions that access to a life cycle-based tool for high throughput alternatives assessment is an integral part of Cytiva’s initiative.

What do you hope will be the result of your participation?

– Cytiva has substantial out-reach both locally and internationally in the biotech industry and represents a new area for Mistra SafeChem. This will illustrate the flexibility of the programme’s platform to meet national demands and add to its long-term stability. Further, bringing green and sustainable approaches to Cytiva’s chemical processes will have a considerable impact on an entire web of biotech infrastructure. By imparting the approaches from the Mistra SafeChem platform into the workings of Cytiva, particularly in terms of coupled hazard screening and LCA aspects, the company will be able to propagate the approaches internally for maximum effect and sustainability.

In what way will Cytiva participate in Mistra SafeChem?

– Cytiva is sponsoring a post-doctoral fellow, who works to expand the toolboxes chemical space to cover additional substances of particular interest to Cytiva and the biotech industry. One major area is tools for reactivity predictions and their relationships to toxicity, coupled to predictions of hazards, e.g. genotoxicity and allergy (skin sensitization). Most of this is in silico work. The delivery will be a software that will calculate a set of chemical reactivity properties. The postdoc would also take part in initial steps for integrating the toolbox approach, coupled to the LCA methods, within Cytiva’s workflow, says Ismet Dorange.

Like many of the other Mistra SafeChem industry partners, Cytiva will also participate with in-kind contribution.