Aesica-led consortium wins Technology Strategy Board grant
To investigate an industrial biotechnology process to enable improved API manufacture
Aesica, a UK-headquartered global pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), has led a consortium which has won a Technology Strategy Board grant. It will fund an industrial biotechnology process aimed at improving the sustainability of the manufacture of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API).
The consortium also comprises Charnwood Technical Consulting, CatScI and Biocatalysts.
The grant will not only assist commercial entities in trialling new processes but also create demonstration scale prototypes. The overall project, valued at £200,000, is scheduled for completion during 2014.
Aesica will manage the overall project and carry out scale-up studies to determine the feasibility of the technology at larger scale; Biocatalysts will use 'Design for Manufacture' principles to discover, develop and manufacture novel enzymes for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients; CatScI will perform the proof of concept studies; while Charnwood Technical Consulting will provide expertise to help design and scale-up the process, as well as offer guidance on quality and regulatory issues.
Using biocatalytic processes in the production of high-value chemicals is environmentally friendly and forms part of an initiative to assist the chemicals industry in the shift away from dependency on fossil fuels towards a bio-economy based on renewable and biological compounds.