Research & Development
Overview of R&D Capabilities
We have two production facilities, both located in the Shanghai area and located near our headquarters and a total of ten (10) R&D laboratories (including 4 walk-in hood laboratories) with a total of 30+ scientists at Hongene Biotech. Of those labs, eight (8) R&D laboratories focus on nucleoside, nucleotide, and phosphoramidite studies and two (2) R&D laboratories focus on enzyme studies and bioconversion.
Our science advisors include three full-time senior professors retired from the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Science (CAS). Each of them has more than 40 years experience of nucleoside, nucleotide, and enzyme studies.
Our R&D laboratories feature typical nucleoside and nucleotide laboratory equipment as well as some modern analytical equipment such as HPLC, GC, LC/MS, prep-LC and more.
Facility 1
The first facility features two production buildings and has the following capabilities:
- a 35,000 sf production floor that includes a 4,000 sf independent building for phosphoramidites pilot/manufacturing.
- Four (4) Research and development laboratories supporting pilot/manufacturing activities
- Reactors:
- 3000 L (1) jacketed glass-lined; 1000 L (1) jacketed glass-lined; 500 L (1) jacketed glass-lined
- 200 L (2) jacketed glass-lined
- 200 L (1) S-S jacketed hydrogenator
- Multiple 50 L - 100 L other jacketed reactors
- An independent phosphoramidites pilot/production building with 500 kg phosphoramidites annual capability
- A HEPA air handling system for the phosphoramidites pilot/production building to mitigate potential cross contamination issues
- Two RO water purification systems with 3 T/h capacity
- Clean room (class 100k)
- Production area 2,200 sq ft
- Dryer, crystallizer, milling machine, mixers and packing devices
- Lypholizer
- Large pilot/production purification columns (15)
- 1300 L (3); 400 L (4); 270 L (1); 150 L (2)
- Others are 50 L to 100 L
- All columns are custom-designed and built
Facility 2
The second facility had its groundbreaking in October of 2011 and was fully commissioned in February of 2013. With about 100,000 square feet of total production area for nucleosides and nucleotides, pilot and commercial manufacturing (nucleoside chemistry, workups and column purification) and a phosphoramidite production area. Additional capabilities include:
- Holds up to 100-120 employees
- Four (4) Research and development laboratories supporting pilot/manufacturing activities
- On-site waste water treatment system
- Reactors (15) from 200 L to 5000 L
- Large production purification column (15) from 200L to 1300L
- Two clean rooms (class 100k) with several crystallizers, dryers, milling, lypholizers, and packaging devices
- HEPA air handling system for all buildings
