The Virbac Company chose ARECO Humidisafe® technology for disinfecting their laboratories. Mr Castagné, the quality assurance manager, explains the reasons behind this choice.

ARECO : Why have you changed your method of disinfection ?

Patrick Castagné : Like most pharmaceutical laboratories, Virbac used to use formaldehyde. As this had been classified in CMR category 1 since 2004 and production was to be stopped in 2007, we had to change  our methods.

ARECO : What procedures did you use ?

Patrick Castagné : The complete procedure lasted 4 years, it mainly involved the technical department and quality assurance :

• Stage 1 : a study of all the possible solutions
• Stage 2 : the choice of biocide
• Stage 3 : the choice of supplier
• Stage 4 : on-site testing
• Stage 5 : deployment

ARECO : What criteria made you choose H₂O₂ ?

Patrick Castagné : After analysis, we discovered that only H₂O₂ based products were satisfactory in terms of efficiency. Then the choice of an H₂O₂ with or without an additive such as peracetic acid or silver ions remained to be determined. The fact that H₂O₂ is non-toxic in small doses and that residues (water + oxygen) are inoffensive for environment at the end of treatment convinced us that this was the right product to use. And this, despite the fact that we were aware that constraints were to be expected in its implementation.

ARECO : Once the biocide had been chosen, the supplier still needed to be selected...

Patrick Castagné : We looked over the whole market and our attention was attracted by 3 suppliers (market leaders). We selected one of them for its know-how, but, above all, on account of the fact that the biocide employed was generic and therefore inexpensive to use. Tests were carried out to validate its efficiency, but installation costs forced us to search for other alternatives.

ARECO : And this is where the meeting with ARECO took place ?

Patrick Castagné : Exactly. We met in 2006 and their technology interested us, together with its highly competitive installation costs. Other significant advantages, the possibility of disinfecting in multi-room mode and dynamically (i.e. without stopping an AHU). In this way, the whole aeraulics system is treated and not just the rooms.

On the other hand, ARECO was a newcomer in this field and all the development work needed to be done. We decided to collaborate together and tests were made on scale 1. After several improvements had been made to the basic system, an optimum cycle was developed and finalized. I would also like to this opportunity of thanking Mr Doriath Christian, from Lilly, for all his help and expertise. The results obtained met pratically all the specifications we had set (6log on spores and 3log on parvovirus against 4 defined beforehand).
These results quite naturally led us to select the ARECO solution. As a result, the system was deployed throughout our production sites.

ARECO : You speak of results not totally attained ?

Patrick Castagné : Action was taken later for optimising efficiency, which now enables us to attain objectives on practically all our installations and this right from the very beginning.

ARECO : How was development carried out ?

Patrick Castagné : Every installation was studied individually for anticipating any possible adaptations required on existing equipment.
A schedule was defined that took account of production constraints.
Today, 4 installations are operating under routine conditions, which represent approximately 1345 m3. 14 installations  are beeing validated at present, Installation Qualification (IQ) and Operational Qualifiication (OQ) carried out, validation of disinfection cycles are under way…
Every installation has been subjected to an IQ and an OQ carried out by ARECO. Virbac makes a systematic validation (Production Qualification PQ over 3 cycles).

ARECO : You speak of qualifications, can you tell us more ?

Patrick Castagné : The Installation Qualification test carried out enables us to check compliancy with specifications (installation and documentation).
At Operational Qualifications, functional tests are carried out on all components and their interconnections with our automation systems. OQ also enable us to make a check on homogeneousness of diffusion into the different rooms and to validate the dosage required.
During the PQ, we validate the reproducibility of results.

ARECO : What is the situation as far as corrosion is concerned ?

Patrick Castagné : This is an important point that we had to validate before embarking on the project. Sclae 1 tests revealed that, with the ARECO system, there was no corrosion on our aeraulics system or the equipment in the rooms (electronics, sensors, production equipment). However, we have observed some deterioration on certain old generation ducting panels. This point must be checked and corrected if necessary before installation (by plating for example).

ARECO : Could you tell us something about the ease of day-to-day use ?

Patrick Castagné : Generally speaking, users have integrated the system very well. The « all automatic » system is reassuring and provides significant improvements to the decontamination process (traceability, personnel safety,  a system protected by a technical alarm, etc.).
Moreover, ARECO has provided ten or so training courses for presenting and explaining the system to the different departments concerned - which has enabled the process to be demystified.

ARECO : What are your feelings about the lifespan of the installations ?

Patrick Castagné : Virbac has taken out a maintenance contract with ARECO. ARECO's capacity to intervene with specialist technicians within a very short time is a very important point. The contract does, of course, include preventive maintenance in order to provide optimal operating conditions.


Patrick Castagné
Quality assurance manager of Virbac Laboratories
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www.virbac.com/