Minneapolis – September 22, 2026 -- Claros Technologies has completed a two-week commercial-scale pilot of its ClarosTechUVTM system at Bachem AG's flagship manufacturing campus in Bubendorf, Switzerland, meeting or exceeding the pharmaceutical company's performance metrics for destroying trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in industrial wastewater.
The trial marks Claros' entry into pharmaceutical manufacturing and expands its commercial footprint in Europe. Bachem, a listed producer of peptide and oligonucleotide APIs including semaglutide, the active ingredient in GLP-1 therapies for weight management and type 2 diabetes, ran the pilot under real-world production conditions.
Bachem confirms only trace TFA remained after treatment
Patrick Barth, Head of Group Communications at Bachem, said that following ClarosTechUVTM treatment of the company's industrial wastewater, "only very low residual concentrations of TFA were detectable," according to a report by Swiss newspaper Volksstimme.
Regulators tighten scrutiny of ultra-short-chain PFAS on both sides of the Atlantic
TFA, an ultra-short-chain PFAS compound, faces intensifying regulatory attention as European authorities evaluate broader restrictions under the REACH framework and the U.S. EPA proposes adding TFA to its Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 6) for nationwide drinking water monitoring.
Claros positions its UV process as an add-on, not a system overhaul
The patented ClarosTechUVTM system uses a high-flow UV photochemical process to permanently destroy PFAS, including ultra-short-chain compounds such as TFA, at the source. Unlike conventional treatment technologies that separate PFAS into secondary waste streams requiring further disposal, the system is designed to fit within existing treatment trains, letting manufacturers add destruction capability without replacing their entire wastewater setup.
André Casagrande, Site Manager at Bachem's Bubendorf campus, tied the pilot to the company's broader manufacturing strategy, saying environmental responsibility and innovation are linked at Bachem as demand for peptide therapeutics accelerates.
Pilot data will inform commercial system design
Claros said the Bachem pilot generated operating data under full manufacturing conditions to guide engineering and design decisions for a commercial-scale deployment. Michelle Bellanca, CEO and Co-Founder of Claros Technologies, called the collaboration a defining milestone as the pharmaceutical industry confronts how to address TFA in wastewater tied to expanding peptide and GLP-1 drug production.