ASME offers bioprocess technology seminars in Europe for the first time

After offering its bioprocess technology seminars in the United States for 18 years, ASME will bring the series to Europe for the first time this June.

The Society will hold two courses — "Disposables Technology in the Biopharmaceutical Market: Benefits, Limitations and Challenges" and "Metallic Materials of Construction for Hygienic Services: Fabrication, Finishing and Corrosion" — at the Swissotel Basel in Basel, Switzerland, on June 8 and 9. The seminars will be held in conjunction with the Fourth European ASME BioProcess Equipment Committee Meetings.

During "Disposables Technology in the Biopharmaceutical Market," attendees will learn about current innovations in single use system and isolation technology; design considerations for introduction of single use systems into a bioprocess; validation and testing of single use systems; current applications using disposable systems; and the economics of single use systems.

Engineers, scientists, and other specialists who are involved in process development, facility design, and process validation will benefit from this workshop-style presentation. The seminar will feature presentations by representatives from leading biotech companies including Stedim, Wave, Amgen, GE Healthcare, Getinge La Calhene, and Hyclone-Europe.

The second seminar, "Metallic Materials of Construction for Hygienic Services: Fabrication, Finishing and Corrosion," will feature experts from Dockweiler, EGMO Ltd., Purity Systems, and Swagelok discussing critical details of materials selection and fabrication techniques for hygienic systems. The focus will be the drainability and cleanability requirements imposed by the ASME Bioprocessing Equipment (BPE) Standard.

Topics to be addressed will include the practice of and oxide films produced by electropolishing, a comparison of the surface oxides produced by various passivation techniques, the technologies used to evaluate oxide films, and the response of discolored welds to standardized corrosion tests.

These two seminars in Switzerland are just the beginning, according to Jennifer Delda, project manager for the ASME BioProcess Seminar series. A full-scale European BioProcess series is being planned for 2007.

To learn more about the ASME European BioProcess Technology Seminars, visit www.asmeconferences.org/BioprocessEurope06.

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