Gamma Biosciences announced a strategic investment in Nirrin Technologies, a provider of next-generation sensors and analytics for real-time, in-process monitoring and analysis in upstream and downstream bioprocessing applications for the biopharma and life science industries.

Nirrin’s platform utilises a highly extensible, tunable laser-based technology that overcomes many of the challenges associated with conventional process analytical technologies (PAT), which require either sampling and off-line analysis or proxy sensors that measure surrogate analytes to predict bioprocessor performance. Using modified near-infrared spectroscopy combined with powerful back-end data processing, Nirrin’s products enable a range of plug-and-play applications such as real-time glucose monitoring and control, total and viable cell density in-line measurements, and downstream protein concentration and aggregation.

The investment in Nirrin includes access to the strategic and commercial resources of Gamma Biosciences and its operating companies. Resources will be dedicated to expanding customer engagements with top developers and manufacturers of advanced therapies, including cell and gene therapies, biologics, and vaccines.

“We are excited to enter the next phase of the Nirrin journey alongside Gamma Biosciences as we empower upstream and downstream biomanufacturing with accurate and instantaneous real-time process data,” said Bryan Hassell, Founder and CTO, Nirrin. “With continued validation and adoption of our platform, we are on track to offer the most effective solution for downstream protein and formulation analysis, and the only platform capable of reliable, real-time glucose measurement for upstream cell culture.”

“We are thrilled to partner with the Nirrin team to tap into the rapidly growing demand for critical, real-time data for analytics and process control,” said Phil Vanek, CTO, Gamma Biosciences. “The rich data generated by Nirrin’s sensor and analytics suite is a game-changer for the application of data science and machine learning to optimise process scale-up and cell engineering. With immediate applications for cell therapy and mAb manufacturing and potential for gene therapy and industrial biotech, we are looking forward to bringing this powerful technology to the market.”