The team at LyoWave wants to push lyophilization further so lifesaving medicines and vaccines can easily reach every corner of the world. We have found a way to apply microwaves to get past some of the key challenges the environment presents.
LyoWave Inc., a high-tech startup, is commercializing innovative microwave heating technologies developed at Purdue University that improve upon traditional lyophilization — or the process of freeze-drying perishable products — by increasing speed, cost-effectiveness and product throughput.
CEO and co-founder Drew Strongrich said LyoWave’s microwave energy innovations open new possibilities for a variety of products. “Our technology overcomes the historic issues associated with microwave systems such as nonuniform heating, poor tunability, low flexibility and risk of product damage due to the generation of free radicals,” he said.
LyoWave licensed the intellectual property through the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization. Pharmaceutical applications and moreAlina Alexeenko, LyoWave president and co-founder, said lyophilization extends the shelf life of pharmaceuticals, including vaccines, and stabilizes them throughout the supply chain. “It requires conditions like those in outer space — it is a cold vacuum,” Alexeenko said. “The traditional process is very expensive and time consuming.“
The team at LyoWave wants to push lyophilization further so lifesaving medicines and vaccines can easily reach every corner of the world. We have found a way to apply microwaves to get past some of the key challenges the environment presents.” Strongrich said LyoWave’s technology enables other innovations." There are several alternative and emerging freeze-drying technologies under investigation by the pharmaceutical sector. This comes in response to the growing demand for lyophilized products,” he said. “The LyoWave technology is highly compatible with many of them and serves as a significant force multiplier.”
The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals, or NIIMBL, awarded a team of Purdue researchers almost $1 million to advance lyophilization technologies. LyoWave officials will present at the 2024 NIIMBL National Meeting, which takes place June 25-27.
Although initially focused on pharmaceutical and diagnostic freeze-drying, Strongrich said the technology has multiple applications.“Microwave heating is a very common industrial process that’s applied over a wide range of industries including food, textiles and chemical production,” he said. “We’re prepared to serve those industries equally as well as the pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries. ”Millrock Technology collaborationLyoWave has entered into a collaboration agreement with Millrock Technology, an industry leader in innovative freeze dryers for biotech, pharmaceutical and industrial applications from laboratory to production.
Millrock will offer LyoWave’s system for its already installed and new freeze dryers, starting with their popular REVO model. The LyoWave system implements microwave heating for current freeze dryers, which allows users to increase their throughput with minimal changes to existing installations.“ Our innovations will be used to boost Millrock’s freeze-drying systems’ capacity to manufacture diagnostic reagents and bulk lyophilized materials and accelerate process development for new lyophilized drug products,” Alexeenko said.
Millrock CEO and President Martial Pabon said LyoWave’s technology has the potential to deliver high value for the industry by both improving product consistency and reducing drying times. “LyoWave’s new solid-state microwave technology provides significant improvements in product quality while shortening processing times, which adds significant value to our customers,” Pabon said. “At Millrock, we are always looking at new technologies that advance freeze-drying science. We are totally excited by this collaboration.”
