Clever Culture Systems wins second major order from AstraZeneca for APAS Independence instruments

Recently rebranded Clever Culture Systems (ASX: CC5) continues to see success with its strategy targeting the pharmaceutical environmental monitoring market, selling a further four of its APAS Independence instruments to multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company AstraZeneca.

Formerly known as LBT Innovations, this is the company’s second order from AstraZeneca and follows the decision in August to undertake a new development project to enhance the APAS Independence platform.

Including annual maintenance and support fees for each instrument, the order is valued at approximately $3.1 million over seven years.

Continuing collaboration

Chief executive officer and managing director Brent Barnes said the new agreement increases AstraZeneca’s total commitments to nine APAS instruments, valued at up to approximately $7.2m.

“This additional order of four APAS instruments allows expanded standardisation of APAS to additional AstraZeneca global sterile drug manufacturing locations,” Mr Barnes said.

“We expect to complete the deliveries and installations in the first half of calendar year 2025 and look forward to continuing our collaboration with the AstraZeneca sites to embed the APAS platform throughout their global network.”

Contact plate application

CCS announced a new development project in August to enhance the APAS Independence platform with contact plate functionality, enabling the instrument to process both 90mm settle plates and the smaller 55mm contact plates.

It also included a new analysis module for the reading of environmental monitoring contact plates.

As a result, customers can now process more of their environmental monitoring plates through each APAS Independence instrument.

Key standardisation

Karen Capper, head of Microbiology, Science & Technology at AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical Technology and Development, said the uptake of APAS Independence is standardising an important part of the company’s environmental monitoring processes.

“The addition of the contact plate application is an important addition to the APAS portfolio that increases the usefulness of the system for our laboratories globally.

“This was a key factor in our decision to extend our global rollout of the technology across our manufacturing network.”