The technology start-up, founded by Professor Xiong-Wei Ni and spun-out of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh in 2004, has just scored a major success with Genzyme, one of the world's leading biotechnology companies. At its Haverhill site in the UK, the company has installed what is regarded as the world's largest patent-protected plant for continuous manufacture of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), using NiTech's Tubular Baffled Reactor.
But how does a small start-up company get itself noticed by the majors? Ian Laird, the MD of NiTech, explains that the Genzyme project, which took 18 months of collaborative work, came about after Genzyme spoke of its challenges with a three-phase reaction at a conference NiTech was also attending.
The company was considering using two 150m3 pressurized stirred tank reactors to make the required API in volumes of hundreds of tonnes/year. But as a result of the partnership, it has installed a NiTech reactor that is less than 3m high and has a much smaller footprint. The reactor volume is less than 1m3 for the same output and this provides one of the best industrial examples of "process intensification."
Ian Laird says working with a company such as Genzyme "demonstrates that our technology can make significant impacts on even the most forward-thinking of companies. I believe that projects like this demonstrate what can be achieved when companies embrace innovation in chemical manufacturing processes."
More information can be found on:
