October 1, 2011 (Vol. 31, No. 17)
Advanced Automation Systems and Services to Improve Productivity in Life Science Research, Development, and Production
TAP Biosystems started out life as The Automation Partnership (TAP) and was a spin out from a successful engineering consultancy, The Technology Partnership (TTP). TAP’s first products were automated systems for compound management (Haystack) and cell culture (Cellmate). Successful development of this type of equipment required TAP to work closely with scientists and decision makers in the major pharmas. TAP collaborated with these customers to deliver automated solutions that would support validation in a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) environment, as well as significantly improve productivity in drug discovery research, development, and manufacturing.
About the Company
TAP Biosystems remains a privately owned business but has evolved into a company that develops small to medium sized products alongside a growing portfolio of consumables, as well as larger integrated systems. The newer product ranges focus on enhancing reproducibility and productivity in bioprocess development, discovery research, regenerative medicine, and cell-based testing.
TAP Biosystems still offers a collaborative working experience for customers looking for novel and cost-effective solutions to difficult cell biology scale-up problems such as GMP cell therapy production. This service is delivered by TAP Biosystems’ experienced Advanced Projects Group (APG), which offers project management, applications, and engineering expertise, as well as ongoing support post-implementation.
As TAP Biosystems’ compound stores and high-throughput screening (HTS) systems remain at the core of many major pharmas’ drug research programs, the company maintains support of this part of its business via its experienced Service and Support Group.
Markets Served
TAP Biosystems has its headquarters near Cambridge in the U.K. and a facility near Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., both of which offer comprehensive technical support, training, and consultancy services. TAP Biosystems’ customers include life scientists in pharmaceutical firms, major biotechnology companies, leading research institutions, and contract research organizations (CROs). To date, the company’s main markets have been in Europe and North America but with the recent appointment of a network of new distribution partners throughout South East Asia, TAP Biosystems aims to have a significant market share in this region too.
Capabilities
Working closely with partners in pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and leading research institutes has given TAP Biosystems a unique insight into up-and-coming challenges these scientists face. For example, the need to improve production of protein-based therapeutics led TAP Biosystems to develop ambr™, its unique micro bioreactor mimic. Finding ways of cost-effectively scaling up production of stem cells for use in drug discovery has been fulfilled with the introduction of the CompacT SelecT SC™ for the reproducible culturing of high-quality stem cells in T-flasks; and regenerative medicine has led TAP Biosystems to develop the CellBase CT™ for GMP-compliant ex vivo expansion of autologous cell-therapy products.
Additionally, the drive for more physiologically relevant cell models to better predict drug behavior has provided TAP Biosystems with the opportunity to work with leading tissue engineering academics to develop RAFT (Real Architecture for 3D Tissue), a simple to use system that rapidly creates complex 3-D tissue models from collagen.
Not only has TAP Biosystems responded with innovative solutions to provide products to fill these specific niches but the company has also seen ways of improving the efficiency of routine laboratory processes. TAP Biosystems has developed a range of benchtop processing equipment, including Fill-It for reproducibly dispensing cell suspensions into screw-cap cryovials to create high-quality cell banks and Capit-All, which rapidly uncaps and recaps screw-cap cryovials.
TAP Biosystems recognizes that reducing the cost of goods of in-demand therapies will continue to be critical to the success of the global life science industry. Therefore, the company continues to develop its portfolio to enable these productivity improvements as the challenges of new types of therapeutics emerge.
TAP Biosystems
York Way
Royston
Hertfordshire
SG8 5WY
United Kingdom
Phone +44 (0) 1763 227200
Website www.tapbiosystems.com
Date Founded 1989
Number of Employees 120
