Regis Technologies History
Celebrating Over 50 Years of Service
Regis Technologies, Inc. is proud to have a rich history in serving the life science industry. Since its opening in 1956, Regis has earned a worldwide reputation for excellence in chromatography products and its capability to synthesize complex molecules for the pharmaceutical industry. Few companies can claim this long standing history of success and innovation while continuing to grow into the future.
As an innovator, Regis initially concentrated on custom synthetic chemistry for the emerging field of psychopharmacology. Later it moved into gas and liquid chromatography, and more recently developed expertise in synthesizing drugs for all stages of drug development. Today, Regis serves startup biotechnology companies and large, multinational pharmaceutical corporations helping to expedite new drugs to market.
Regis Technologies, Inc. continues to enjoy growth by providing expanded services for drug development, including process research, analytical method development, scale-up, validation, stability studies, and commercialization. Additionally, we are expanding our chromatographic separation capability by adding Super Critical Fluid Chromatography (SCF), an environmentally friendly technology. Now, with a dedicated staff and a new Synthetic Research Laboratory wing, Regis continues to broaden its capacity to serve the pharmaceutical industry.
Milestones
- 1956
- Regis Chemical Company was founded on North Wells Street, initially synthesizing indole compounds for pharmaceutical research. The family-run business was based on the values of Louis Glunz I, who started a family enterprise dedicated to innovation, customer service, quality and a commitment to community.
- 1959
- Awarded first contract with NIH; began an era of government research contracts.
- 1965
- Relocated to North Franklin Street with expanded synthetic capabilities.
- 1966
- Began to provide chromatography products for customers around the world. First product was a reagent kit for analyzing natural protein amino acids by gas chromatography (GC) for the first time. The line of derivatization reagents has since expanded into a full line of derivatization products built around our flagship silylation reagent: Regisil®.
- 1970
- Began to develop and offer HPLC columns and packings when Dr. John Perry joined Regis.
- 1972
- Moved to Morton Grove and began offering chiral chromatography columns. Working with Dr. Pirkle, Regis developed and marketed a line of Pirkle Concept HPLC columns and packings. These chiral columns continue to offer advantages in efficiency, stability, and the useful advantage of reversing enantiomer elution.
- 1986
- Regis’ Tom Pinkerton developed Restricted Access Media (RAM) columns to permit the direct injection of serum for drug analyses.
- 1988
- Regis’ Dr. Charles Pidgeon’s developed Immobilized Artificial Membrane (IAM) columns to enable the prediction of drug membrane permeability.
- 1993
- Changed name to Regis Technologies, Inc., reflective of products and services we provide; made commitment to FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
- 1995
- Manufactured clinical trial supplies of Viracept, a market leader among HIV Protease Inhibitor drugs.
- 1998
- Opened a new GMP Production plant at the Morton Grove facility with isolated reactor bays.
- 2002
- Doubled Morton Grove facility through warehouse acquisition
- 2006
- Celebrates 50 years of service to government, university research laboratories, pharmaceutical manufacturers; opens a new Synthetic Research Wing
- 2006
- New chemical research wing is opened with laboratories, adjoining offices, and conference rooms.
- 2007
- Regis adds Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC) services to its stable of separation capabilities. This environmentally friendly technique, using liquid CO2 as the primary mobile phase, is being applied at Regis in kilo quantity separations, following the GMP guidelines of the FDA.
- 2008
- A new analytical center is opened. The facility includes laboratories, offices, company meeting rooms and locker rooms. Instrumentation is expanded to include NMR, GC-MS, and HPLC-MS.
- 2008
- Regis opens a new Analytical Method Development and Quality Control laboratory. The expansion at the existing site adds 8,000 square feet of new laboratory space, and includes a 400 MHz Bruker NMR.