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Moving Biopharma Forward: Ecolab’s Innovative Bioprocessing Solutions for Efficient Drug Purification
Biologic medicines are transforming modern healthcare by offering highly targeted treatments for complex diseases like cancer, autoimmune disorders, and rare genetic conditions. Unlike traditional small-molecule drugs, biologics interact precisely with biological pathways, often resulting in greater efficacy and fewer side effects.
However, producing biologics is far more complex. One of the most critical steps in their development is the drug purification—the process of isolating the therapeutic molecule from a mixture of cells, proteins, and other byproducts. This step ensures the final product is safe, potent, and free of contaminants.
In 2021, Ecolab announced the acquisition of Purolite, a leading global provider of fast-growing, high value separation and purification solutions to life sciences and critical industrial markets. The Purolite product portfolio provides pharmaceutical companies and custom development and manufacturing organizations with a toolbox of affinity chromatography resins to achieve high yield drug purification in less time across their entire drug pipeline.
The New Standard in Purification
Purolite™ Resins are manufactured through a patented Jetted technology designed to create uniquely uniform beads engineered to meet the rigorous performance, quality, and regulatory standards required for today’s monoclonal antibody purification. Purolite Bioprocessing Resins are ideal for purifying monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins and designed to consistently deliver higher yield and reduced cycles, saving money on both materials and labour.
Ecolab is constantly working to expand its resin toolbox to meet customers’ needs across the entire value chain. At the 2025 BIO conference last week, Ecolab announced the launch of Purolite AP+50, an innovative new resin with a 50-micron bead size offering the high dynamic binding capacity while providing excellent durability for protein capture.
Other types of resins in the toolbox include:
- Purolite DurA Cycle™ Resin with a long life cycle for commercial-scale drug production
- Purolite CH1 Resin to target complex antibody fragments
Ecolab’s resin portfolio supports process intensification strategies and cost of goods reduction, which are critical in late-phase, large-scale manufacturing. And by continuously adding new ligands to the toolbox, Ecolab is building a product portfolio that addresses the unique needs of its customers and supports their entire drug pipeline.
The merging of Purolite’s resin technology and biologics expertise, combined with more than a century of Ecolab’s manufacturing knowledge and innovation, created a leading solution for drug manufacturers to achieve high productivity and lower production costs in a sustainable way.
Ecolab Life Sciences
When matched with Ecolab’s deep expertise in contamination and environmental control along with bio-decontamination solutions, a new Life Sciences segment was created. Ecolab Life Sciences supports pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers at every step of the product lifecycle, from discovery to commercial production, across their entire global enterprise.
With solutions tailored to the specific demands of bioprocessing environments, customers can stay competitive in a rapidly evolving and highly regulated industry. With growing pressure on companies to reduce the overall time-to-market for new medicines, every decision matters. Ecolab’s data-driven insights and proactive solutions help minimise delays and increase efficiency, ultimately enabling faster access to treatments around the world.
The Power of Purolite Resins
“This is a pivotal moment for the Ecolab Life Sciences team and our partners in biopharmaceutical manufacturing,” said Hayley Crowe, executive vice president and general manager, Ecolab Life Sciences. “With its uniform bead design and the ability to achieve high yield purification for complex drugs, Purolite Resins drive down production costs, accelerate speed to market, and work to advance sustainability—ultimately helping our customers deliver critical treatments to patients faster. We are committed to supporting our customers across every stage of their operations.”
To learn more about how Ecolab is helping advance the future of medicine, visit: www.puroliteresins.com/ecolab