The LyoStar3 is designed to meet the needs of R&D professionals. Our freeze drying equipment is used for applications ranging from process development for scale-up to product processing for stability studies to formulations work.

The LyoStar is an R&D and process development freeze-dryer that provides unmatched process accuracy, reliability and unique ease-of-use features. The LyoStar features Type T thermocouple-controlled shelf temperature accuracy of +/- 0.5°C or better and vacuum control within 0.1% of set-point. Its robust 5.5 hp cascade refrigeration system enables shelf pull down from ambient to –40°C in less than 25 minutes, and the ultra-reliable scroll compressors feature just 3 moving parts.

Features:
•  SMART Freeze-Dryer Technology helps automate and shorten the development of freeze-drying cycles
•  Delivers product information that has previously been unavailable during a cycle - dried layer resistance, heat flow and mass transfer
•  Designed to facilitate scale up but maximizing features in common with well-designed commercial systems
•  Configured with superior instrumentation for complete process information - isolation valve, capacitance manometers, Pirani gauge, 16 thermocouples, Allen Bradley PLC
•  Available with 21 CFR Part 11 compliant software and full validation packages

Benefits:
•  Substantially decrease cycle development time and conserves valuable API
•  Delivers increased process information such as how different freezing protocols impact cake resistance
•  More easily transfer cycles to larger systems
•  Maximizes process control, repeatability
•  Meets even the most stringent QA requirements

Applications:
•  Formulation development and stability studies
•  Cycle optimization and scale-up
•  Lyophilization of product with organic solvents in addition to water
•  Laboratory research and development and/or small production freeze drying
•  Diagnostic kits
•  96 well plate
•  Serum bottles and vials

Genevac is a subsidiary of SP Scientific

SP Scientific is a leading manufacturer of specialty equipment for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, industrial, academic, and OEM applications. Products are sold under marketing leading brands that include Genevac solvent evaporators and miVac sample concentrators, FTS precision thermal control systems and LyoStar freeze dryers with SMART control for freeze drying cycle development, Virtis laboratory, pilot-plant, and production scale freeze dryers, and Hotpack glassware washers and dryers.

Company Origins

Genevac was founded in 1990 by Michael Cole. At this time, the small, family owned business specialised in the manufacture of corrosion proof vacuum pumps and centrifugal evaporation equipment for the life science research laboratory.
Centrifugal evaporation involves the use of lowered pressure to reduce the boiling points of solvents thereby accelerating their evaporation. Samples are placed in a rotor and spun during the drying process to prevent violent solvent boiling (known as "bumping").

Michael Cole invented the revolutionary Cole Vacuum Pump (CVP) to provide the world's first corrosion proof high vacuum, low maintenance laboratory pump. The CVP pump originally formed the backbone of all Genevac vacuum systems to provide unparalleled levels of performance. The evaporation systems produced between 1990 and 1995 were very compact bench top systems for general-purpose use in life science research.

With advances made in technology, this has now been superseded with the Scroll Pump. Developed by BOC Edwards, with assistance from Genevac, and based on the "scroll" principle. The scroll pump takes it?fs name from the design of the pump head, where a series of crescent shaped scrolls cut into an oscillating rotor are used to repeatedly compress and decompress the gas or vapour to be pumped.

1995 - The Emerging Combinatorial Chemistry Market

In conjunction with the emergence of new technologies to speed up drug discovery and development in the pharmaceutical industry, the company focussed on developing a new class of laboratory evaporation equipment specifically designed for combinatorial chemistry and its related applications.

Combinatorial techniques demand high throughput, high performance laboratory synthesis, solvent evaporation and purification equipment capable of operating in a production environment. Genevac became the first manufacturer to build solvent evaporation systems for combinatorial chemistry. Genevac currently manufacture a range of standard systems from the compact bench-top EZ-2 and HT-4X systems to ultra-high throughput Mega production scale systems.

The success of the combinatorial chemistry systems launched in 1995 gave rise to accelerated company growth. The systems are currently used in most major pharmaceutical research laboratories worldwide. The company won the Queen's Award for Innovation in 2000 in recognition of the innovations incorporated into the products.

Ownership

Dr Cole retired, selling Genevac to Apogent Technologies in May 2000. Apogent was in turn merged with Fisher Scientific Inc. during 2004. Fisher Scientific then merged with Thermo Electron Corporation to form ThermoFisher Scientific in November 2006, with Genevac being divested as part of the merger process. In April 2007 Genevac was acquired by SP Industries, now part of the Graham Partners portfolio of companies.
Genevac currently employs around 85 people, most based at the manufacturing, R&D and marketing headquarters in Ipswich, England. A US subsidiary is based in Gardiner, NY. The US operation provides sales, service and technical support to our customers in the US. Sales and service representatives are based local to most of our customers on the East Coast, Mid West and West Coast. In Europe we have sales and service staff based at offices in France and Germany to provide efficient service to our key European customers. Elsewhere, Genevac products are sold and supported via a global network of distributors located strategically to serve the drug discovery industry.

Genevac endeavours to provide the highest quality products, service and support. This is achieved through a unique range of innovative, high performance products and a commitment to customer satisfaction, resulting in the Company achieving the status of ISO9001 2000 certification during 2004.