Avecia's early phase pharmaceutical facility is a 'first'
Avecia has opened a £2m (€3.1 m), five stream early phase pharmaceutical pilot plant at Huddersfield in the UK. The facility is thought to be the first of its kind dedicated to the rapid conversion of customers' development processes into clinical trial quantities of pharmaceutical intermediates and actives.
The 12,000 sq ft plant has three main process streams with a capacity of 175-1,600l; two kilo-scale streams with 50l capacity reactors, with laboratories and ancillary facilities for chemists and support staff.
The facility, part of Avecia's £30m (€46.7m) investment programme in early phase pharmaceutical development and manufacturing for clinical trials, operates to GMP standards for projects in early clinical trials phases. Its location at Huddersfield means that customers can benefit from the seamless technology transfer of projects that have been successful in early clinical trials to Avecia's larger scale NPI (New Product Introduction) plants on the same site.
'This project recognises the need for ever shorter lead times in drug development and production,' said Avecia chief executive officer Jeremy Scudamore.