Don’t you just love it when things work? When that “gadget” that you have been looking at and have researched turns out to work exactly as promoted?I do.

I have had my share of disappointments – the streaming media player that could never find my home wireless network; the drill bit that was supposed to go through brick but just made a mess; the wall stud finder that was supposed to help me find two-by-fours behind sheetrock – but only resulted in me drilling numerous “pilot holes” in the wall.

While these mishaps are really minor in the overall “scheme” of things; when you look at what works in the pharmaceutical industry – a technology that is proving itself as one that works is single-use.

When first introduced, single-use/disposable technologies were looked at as being useful for only small-scale operations and for very specific applications. And indeed, this was probably true – at the beginning – but now we are seeing the implementation of single-use technologies in every stage of biopharmaceutical manufacturing and at scales that at one time were not though of as possible.

I have seen this transformation first hand. First at trade shows where single-use technologies were initially viewed as a passing trend, gimmicky or even just a “gadget” that might not work; to today, where single-use technologies have almost taken over exhibit floors. This is, of course, partly in response to the boom in two areas – the growth of biopharmaceuticals and the growth of the biopharm CMO market – but also due to the fact that single-use technologies work and work quite well for the requirements of the pharmaceutical industry.

In my travels I have visited many biopharm facilities and each one has touted the benefits of single-use technologies. Their benefits have been well-documented in these pages, but in a nutshell are:

• Ease of use
• Cost
• Cross-contamination control
• Flexibility

Everything the “modern” pharmaceutical needs for efficient manufacturing.

While single-use technologies might not be applicable for every manufacturing situation, their benefits certainly outweigh any drawbacks.

And I guarantee they will never make you drill useless holes in a wall.