A first case of colistin resistance has been described in the US. This is troubling news, since colistin is used as a last-resort drug in combating infections with highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The intensive use of colistin in the pork industry, mainly in China, is suspected to have caused the development of this resistance. Now, the trait is spreading rapidly; does this herald the beginning of a post-antibiotics era?
In contrast to the chemical industry, where many commercial processes are continuous processes, most processes in the biopharmaceutical industry are batch processes. The latter are generally slower and more expensive than their continuous counterparts. Continuous processes are also more reproducible, and the quality is more consistent. Despite these proven advantages, continuous processes are seldom found in the biopharmaceutical industry. As many improvements on process units are being developed, biopharmaceutical parties are becoming more and more aware of the added value of continuous bioprocessing. Pall Life Sciences presents a new downstream technology that is designed to increase purification efficiency using a continuous chromatography system.