Solutions Spotlight: Rethinking Filtration as a System-Level Design Decision

Biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes are becoming more complex, prompting manufacturers to evaluate filtration based on its impact across the entire process rather than as a standalone unit operation. Filtration decisions can influence everything from system footprint and flow performance to integration complexity, product recovery, and overall operational efficiency. Growing emphasis on sustainability and yield is also leading manufacturers to examine hidden inefficiencies. In this episode of Off Script, sponsored by Saint-Gobain Critical Process Solutions, we spoke with Hannah Hertrick, market development manager of Filtration Products at Saint-Gobain, about how filtration is evolving into a system-level optimization opportunity. The conversation explores why filtration decisions increasingly extend beyond membrane performance, how filter design and connectivity can simplify system integration, and why manufacturers are taking a more holistic approach to improving process efficiency. Hertrick also discusses the challenge of holdup volume in high-value biologics, the impact of hidden product losses on yield and cost of goods, and the overall importance of reducing system complexity and improving product recovery.