The vaccine

摘要

In the last edition of IFN, I began this column with, "Filtration can solve all the world's problems." In that case, I was referring to air and water filtration, primarily, but the same sentiment applies here, as we consider the role filtration technology played in the development of a vaccine to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. As our international correspondent Adrian Wilson explains in his cover story, "Membrane filtration and the heightened pace of development in the biopharmaceutical industry" (pages 20-23), deploying standardized processes and state-of-the-art single-use technologies, filtration, separation and purification leader Pall Corporation, headquartered in Port Washington, New York, designed the mass manufacturing process for the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in a record-breaking eight weeks - something that would previously have taken years.