Allan Urbach Research Manager, Chemistry

I never actually set out to work in purification - in fact, when I was studying chemistry, bioseparations wasn't really on my radar at all. Back then, the emphasis for an aspiring synthetic chemist was very much on total synthesis and medicinal chemistry. Those were considered the ultimate goals, while chromatography was simply a tool you used along the way. I was a small-molecule chemist, and whenever I used silica-based chromatography columns, I treated them as consumables. I certainly never stopped to wonder how they were made or what went into developing them.

So, when I joined Astrea Bioseparations in 2018, it was something of an unexpected change in direction. I came into the industry by chance, but looking back, I feel incredibly lucky that I did. Today, I feel more like a scientist than I ever did when working exclusively in synthetic chemistry.

Discovering a different side of chemistry

I was originally recruited for my expertise in synthetic chemistry - at the time, leachates and leachables studies were an important focus at Astrea Bioseparations, then known as Prometic Biosciences, and there was a need to synthesize and characterize potential impurities and by-products to support regulatory activities.

For almost a year, my work was relatively familiar, I was applying the chemistry I already knew, albeit in a different industry. Then I was given two adsorbent development projects to progress in parallel, that was when things really changed.

Suddenly, I was working with our Quality by Design (QbD) project management system, carrying out detailed risk assessments of entire processes, using statistics and developing adsorbents intended for production. These were all things I had never done before, and it was an incredibly steep learning curve, made even more interesting by the fact that part of it took place during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Fortunately, I had a great deal of support from my colleagues, who I'm sure I must have asked plenty of questions, and perhaps annoyed a few people along the way, but they certainly never made me feel that way. In a relatively short period, I learned an enormous amount about our core activities and the systems that sit behind the quality of our finished products. It remains one of the most memorable stages of my career at Astrea Bioseparations.

There's always more to discover

One thing that experience taught me is that you can never become too comfortable with what you think you know - even recently, new projects have challenged my understanding and reminded me just how much there is still to learn.

One example involved investigating how surface extenders affect the performance of our base matrices. The initial results were so promising that the work became connected with several other projects - by bringing together data from three different applications, we were able to deepen our understanding of our base matrices and agarose-based adsorbents more generally, while also finding explanations for observations we had made previously.

But scientific conclusions are rarely as clear-cut as we would like. There are so many parameters influencing these processes that understanding exactly what is happening can take time, and sometimes the results raise more questions than they answer.

I've learned that patience is essential! Scientific progress can be slow and occasionally frustrating, but the understanding you gain along the way provides a stronger foundation for future developments. Often, the questions you hadn't expected to ask turn out to be the most interesting.

Looking beyond the reaction flask

As a chemist, it's easy to become absorbed in what's happening inside your reaction flask but developing a successful purification product requires you to look much further.

In R&D, our work can begin with the initial idea for a project, progress through proof of concept and eventually lead to the development of a new product. It doesn't stop there either - we also contribute to technology transfer, product support and regulatory activities, that means the chemistry is only one part of a much bigger picture.

I'm constantly exchanging information with analytical scientists, downstream processing specialists and other chemists. The feedback they provide helps me understand how our materials are performing and where I might need to adjust the parameters of a reaction. It's a genuine two-way exchange. Something that looks promising from a chemistry perspective may need further refinement once it's tested in a purification application. Equally, results from those applications can help us understand the chemistry in ways we might not have anticipated.

That interaction is one of the things I enjoy most about my role, as it brings together different areas of expertise and gives me the opportunity to learn far beyond my original specialism.

Why the best ideas don't always come from the lab

I've always found that having a good team around you is essential. Within our R&D team, we regularly share results, discuss challenges and question one another's conclusions. Everyone brings different experiences and ways of approaching a problem, and that diversity makes us more effective and innovative.

Even among the chemists, we all have our own techniques and little tricks we've developed over time. Sometimes a conversation with a colleague reveals a quicker or more efficient way of doing something you've been doing for years. Those conversations don't always happen in formal project meetings, an informal chat in the tearoom can be just as useful for sparking an idea as a structured R&D discussion.

I also appreciate how willing people are to help when a project becomes challenging. Sometimes a colleague who isn't directly involved will offer their time and expertise simply because they can see that an extra pair of hands would make a difference.

Taking the time to get things right

Over the years, my approach to scientific work has become more systematic, pragmatic and, I think, a little more relaxed. One of the most valuable lessons I've learned is that spending time planning properly can save a great deal of time later, whilst it's tempting to take shortcuts when you're trying to make progress, particularly when deadlines are approaching or a problem seems to have a straightforward solution - shortcuts are usually short-term thinking.

Temporary fixes have a habit of coming back to haunt you, and you often end up wishing you'd taken the time to do things properly in the first place. Careful planning, understanding the risks and involving the right people early can prevent much bigger problems further down the line. That doesn't mean everything will go according to plan, science rarely works that way - but a more considered approach puts you in a much better position to respond when something unexpected happens.

Finding purpose in an unexpected career

One of the things I appreciate most about working in bioseparations is the breadth of science involved. My work allows me to explore chemistry alongside other disciplines, continually satisfying my curiosity and giving me new challenges to solve - there's also something particularly rewarding about knowing where that work can lead.

At Astrea Bioseparations, we're developing chromatography solutions to purify biological targets such as proteins and nucleic acids, supporting processes from research and development through to manufacturing. For people outside the industry, it can be difficult to appreciate just how essential these technologies are to producing therapeutics - we're often working on materials and processes that patients will never see or hear about, but which can play an important part in making their treatments possible. Knowing that the work I do can ultimately help people gives it a sense of purpose that I find incredibly motivating.

I also appreciate that the chemistry I work with today is considerably more environmentally friendly than much of the chemistry I was involved in earlier in my career – and that's another reason I feel good about the direction my career has taken.

If I could give one piece of advice to someone starting out in science, it would be to take every opportunity to explore techniques and disciplines outside your immediate area of expertise, as you never know what might capture your interest or where an unexpected opportunity might lead. I certainly didn't imagine that a career in synthetic chemistry would bring me into bioseparations, but what began as a chance opportunity has become an incredibly rewarding part of my scientific journey. Sometimes discovering what you love about science means being willing to explore something you never originally planned to do.