SGS Health Sciences, a company providing drug development solutions, has made ot easier for customers to access biopharmaceutical insights with the addition of stability studies to the service portfolio of its laboratory in Birsfelden, Switzerland.
The service expansion will allow SGS to provide a to provide a complete service for its biopharma customers.
As of February 2024, the laboratory's service portfolio has been offering a range of novel services, including the storage of samples and all related analytical services. It now provides a fully integrated range of services, including:
- Stability storage of samples under controlled temperature and humidity conditions, -80 to 25 °C and beyond, in accordance with the ICH Q5C guideline for stability testing
- Performing QC analytics starting from compendial methods over physicochemical analytics
- Bioassays
As part of this expansion, SGS project managers will oversee the execution of each study, acting as a single point of contact for the client, taking responsibility for budget and timelines, whilst also providing an agile approach to meet client needs.
When biopharmaceutical customers need assistance with their stability studies, the SGS Birsfelden laboratory provides the full package of services, expertise and support from start to finish.
Facility expansion to complement an increase in demand
To evolve the Birsfelden facility, a newly built, state-of-the-art 550 sqm space has been added to the laboratory. It includes a dedicated space for sample reception and registration, stability chambers and analytical laboratories, with 24/7 access control and monitoring.
Samples are pulled in this area and analysed in the laboratory just next door, creating a hyper-efficient process to serve customers’ timelines.
The dedicated stability storage compartment is itself made up of four climate cabinets and freezers from Binder and ALS. As a result, the storage compartment can withstand temperature and humidity conditions ranging from -80 to +25 °C and beyond, in line with
ICH Q5C and other guidelines.
Each of the chambers has a backup, meaning eight total chambers are now available, with space for further expansion.
To support the growing demand from clients, the laboratory will increase the number of its staff members to around 65 people.
The beginning of a new stability studies journey
The Birsfelden laboratory team expects all chambers of the new cabinets to be progressively in use over the forthcoming year.
The laboratory’s capability will continue to expand through addition of new services and technologies like qPCR, MFI and SoloVPE.