Abbott employee Julian Holmes has been presented with a company Presidential Award for his contribution towards establishing a QC laboratory at its pharmaceutical plant in Sligo, Ireland.
Normally based at the Queenborough plant in Kent, Holmes relocated to Ireland to complete the project and prepare the plant for a US FDA inspection at the end of 2003.
He assisted the team in Sligo through all the steps required to ensure validation and regulatory practices were of a standard to pass FDA scrutiny, and ensured an aggressive timetable was followed. The factory was able to begin production of raw materials in 2003.
'The FDA inspection is an extremely rigorous process, scrutinising every aspect of our manufacture,' said UK managing director Mark Haywood. 'Through Julian's effort we are extremely confident that all the correct validations and regulatory practices have been achieved.'