Emerson to Automate New Plant for First MAb Drugs In China

Emerson Process Management (St. Louis, MO) has been chosen to automate the first Chinese plant to produce monoclonal antibody drugs. The plant, owned by Shanghai CP Guojian Pharmaceutical Company and located in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Shanghai, China, will have the largest mammalian cell-culture system in Asia. Monoclonal antibody drug production is expected to begin in August of this year.

The automation approach will include Emerson’s “PlantWeb” architecture with Foundation fieldbus instrumentation and the DeltaV digital automation system.

The Emerson solution is intended to meet the end-user's goal of applying advanced technology to all phases of pharmaceutical production while keeping costs low, meeting the construction schedule, and achieving a smooth start-up. Company officials expect to meet international standards with the products manufactured at this facility.