Puretech opens regional office hub in the North East of England

Puretech Process Systems Ltd, with headquarters in Redhill, Surrey, will shortly be opening a new office hub in Newcastle city centre.

The North East is home to many global organisations with plans for significant investment in the region. Pharmaceuticals, biopharma, gigafactories, and healthcare are all set to benefit, which are all sectors where Puretech has vast knowledge, experience and expertise.

Puretech’s North East office hub will be well positioned to provide a service to local clients, as well as continuing to serve national clients. The North East offers many talented people in the engineering sector, and Puretech has recently attracted a number of local engineers and project managers. Although recent experience of working during the pandemic has proven we can work effectively as a team remotely, Puretech realises that with a regional hub it is able to attract excellent people without requiring them to compromise their work/life balance by relocating or spending wasted time commuting up and down the country. The hub is a commercial, sustainable solution which will enable Puretech to take advantage of the growing opportunities in the region.

Speaking about the new hub, Andy Barrett, Managing Director of Puretech Process Systems Ltd, said, “This is a really exciting opportunity. It enables us to provide great local support to new and existing clients, save costs on things like travel, food and accommodation, provide a better work/life balance for our employees, and reduce our carbon footprint. So, it’s not only strategically beneficial to the business, but it also supports our commitments to sustainability and employee wellbeing.”

Providing for the Manufacture of Next Generation Technology

Puretech Process Systems’ sister company Microgas Systems is proud to have delivered the M&E design process, procurement and build elements of Plessey Semiconductors Ltd’s semi-conductor facility upgrade. This large-scale, complex project, with Microgas acting as principle contractor, consisted of infrastructure upgrades and tool installations, which will enable uLED prototyping and manufacturing capabilities at Plessey’s site in Plymouth.

‘Plessey Semiconductors is at the forefront of microLED technology, delivering innovative display solutions that can be easily integrated into the next generation of AR/VR displays, wearables, and other consumer electronic devices.’

Find out more in Manufacturing Today’s article.

FAQs About Water for Injection

1. Is it possible to produce hot water from a membrane system?
   No, it is not possible to produce hot water from the technology itself, but the water could be heated once it is in the tank, or even before by adding a heat exchanger between the generation system and the storage tank.
2. Can an existing purified water (PW) system be converted to a WFI generation system?
   In theory a purified water system can be converted to a WFI generation system from a water quality perspective but in reality there may be issues when it comes to validating the system and ensuring that the regulators are happy that it is producing WFI and not PW
3. Where would you recommend installing an online microbial monitor?
   Puretech would recommend installing an online microbial monitor at the return end of the distribution loop, before the water goes back into the storage tank.
4. Are there any situations/processes where you would not recommend the membrane technology?
   Not really, EUR Pharmacopeia, US and JP Pharmacopeia all allow membrane technology, but Puretech would recommend checking with your regulator to see whether they would accept membrane technology to obtain WFI, and if they will not it could be considered a risk.
5. Does regulatory guidelines allow cold WFI distribution ?
   Yes. Water temperature is not one of parameters for WFI but certain applications that WFI is used for will require hot water.
6. Is it necessary to sterilise a membrane WFI generation system, from a regulation point of view (given that WFI is it a sterile media)?
   Puretech recommends regular heat sanitisations of generation systems to ensure they deliver the quality of water required, especially from a bacteria perspective.
7. Is further treatment of WFI required when storing it in a tank?
   No further treatment is required for stored WFI, but Puretech recommend that if you are storing it cold to maintain a temp below 20°C.
8. Is it mandatory to have a second stage RO membrane to produce WFI or just advisable?
   Puretech recommends a twin pass secondary membrane but it is not mandatory to produce WFI.
9. What’s the best sanitisation method for WFI in cold distribution ?
   There are three options for the sanitisation of WFI in cold distribution – hot water >80°C, super-heated and ozone – all of which are tried, tested and reliable. There are pros and cons for each one so ultimately the decision will depend on how the water is being used in your facility, down time, costs etc.
10. Can you advise how to remove the bacterial endotoxin using only membranes?
    Puretech would not guarantee meeting the bacterial endotoxin required for WFI without an ultra-filter and regulators would not accept a system without ultra-filtration.