Processing of Insulin Crystals

Sterile Liquid Processing

GEA produces and supplies process systems for the production of liquid products for the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, and has a proven history of successfully installing plant for the production of insulin, including the engineering, delivery, commissioning and qualification of entire ultra-pure media systems as well as various process equipment and cleaning installations.

Insulin Production

The biosynthetic production of human insulin is done using bacteria or yeast cells. Following fermentation, or the conversion of the chemical raw materials by the micro-organisms, the biomass is extracted (at a constant concentration) by a nozzle separator, washed, concentrated and finally precipitated to produce insulin crystals. 

The GEA Advantage

A worldwide technology leader in insulin production, GEA is able to supply the clean utility systems and manage the integration of all the main processes, including fermentation, harvesting, chromatography, filtration and freeze drying.

Centrifuges and process lines provided by GEA have an established pedigree in the clarification, separation, classification, concentration and fractionation steps. Nozzle separators also play an important part in the production process. In addition, GEA equipment is used in the subsequent crystallization stages, including chamber separators and self-cleaning separators.

GEA is a single-source supplier of a variety of fermenters, media preparation, buffer storage, harvesting and cell rupture solutions, equipment for the purification and isolation of cells, separation (after both first and final crystallization), the production and distribution of water-for-injection (WFI), Clean-in-Place (CIP) solutions and freeze drying technologies, all of which can be installed and integrated into a state-of-the-art insulin production facility.