Air Products and Sublime Stericeuticals Announce Joint Agreement to Develop Continuous Freeze-Drying Equipment for Vaccine and Pharmaceutical Industries

Liquid Nitrogen Technology Enables Instant Spray Crystallization and Preservation of Vaccine and Drug Products for Subsequent Sublimation

News provided by

Air Products

Oct 25, 2021, 10:46 ET

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. and AMES, Iowa, Oct. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products (NYSE: APD), a global leader in industrial gases and cryogenic technology, and Sublime Stericeuticals Corporation, a process design and equipment manufacturer serving the pharmaceutical industry, today announced plans to collaborate and develop a proprietary sublimation and desorption technology for a continuous freeze-drying system for vaccine and drug solutions. Under a joint development agreement (JDA), Air Products' proprietary cryogen delivery and liquid nitrogen spray freezing technology will be used in combination with Sublime's process design to spray crystallize vaccine and drug solutions in a continuous sterile lyophilization freeze drying environment.

"The development of a continuous solution for pharmaceutical manufacturers fits well with our commitment to help our customers improve productivity and quality across product applications. We anticipate that the product resulting from this JDA will allow pharmaceutical manufacturers to rapidly produce and preserve high-value materials without compromising on yield or viability," said Francesco Maione, president, Americas at Air Products. "This solution could also introduce a process flow that allows larger manufacturers to be more agile and establish more production options."

Freeze-drying, or lyophilization, is regularly used to preserve biological products such as vaccines and antihemophilic proteins. It is also used to stabilize biopharmaceuticals, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and cell extracts. Solutions containing the ingredients are freeze-dried inside vials, and later reconstituted. Common quality-related process issues today often greatly affect the final yield and cost to produce these products.

"With this collaboration we plan to address the challenges that pharmaceutical manufacturers have with long lyophilization processing times, coupled with less than certain process outcomes. It's the culmination of years of research and first-hand industry experience. Our collaboration with Air Products will be key to completing a successful commercialized development," said Shawn Stimson, vice president of Process Development for Sublime.

About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for 80 years. Focused on serving energy, environment and emerging markets, the Company provides essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemical, metals, electronics, manufacturing, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the global leader in the supply of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment. The Company develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world's largest industrial gas projects, including: gasification projects that sustainably convert abundant natural resources into syngas for the production of high-value power, fuels and chemicals; carbon capture projects; and world-scale carbon-free hydrogen projects supporting global transportation and the energy transition.

The Company had fiscal 2020 sales of $8.9 billion from operations in 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of approximately $65 billion. More than 19,000 passionate, talented and committed employees from diverse backgrounds are driven by Air Products' higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the environment, enhance sustainability and address the challenges facing customers, communities, and the world. For more information, visit airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedIn Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

About Sublime
Sublime is a process design and equipment manufacturer serving the pharmaceutical industry with extensive experience in FDA regulated sterile drug manufacturing and product quality. For more information, visit www.sublimestericeuticals.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. While forward-looking statements are made in good faith and based on assumptions, expectations and projections that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information, actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors, including risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020. Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the assumptions, beliefs or expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any such forward-looking statements are based.

SOURCE Air Products