Rhodia to consolidate US PDS
Rhodia Pharma Solutions will consolidate its North American pharmaceutical development services operations at DuPont's Chambers Works site, located in Salem County, NJ. This move will enable Rhodia to supply pre-clinical, clinical trial materials and launch volumes of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates from one facility.
Rhodia Pharma Solutions will consolidate its North American pharmaceutical development services operations at DuPont's Chambers Works site, located in Salem County, NJ. This move will enable Rhodia to supply pre-clinical, clinical trial materials and launch volumes of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates from one facility.
The cGMP compliant site, which has been leased from DuPont for an initial 10 year period, was formerly operated by DuPont Merck Pharmaceuticals, and includes 11 synthetic laboratories, four analytical laboratories, four kilo laboratories, and 17 reactors, ranging from 30 to 750 gallons each, in six suites. The 101,000ft2 purpose-built facility will also enable Rhodia to offer full organic synthesis capability, including cryogenics, phosgenation, and hydrogenation.
Speaking at the CPhI show in Frankfurt, Nick Green, president of Rhodia Pharma Solutions, said: 'Development services is a strategic business for Rhodia and by consolidating our operations in a single, larger US facility, we are positioning ourselves for long-term growth with an enhanced cost structure.
'The Chambers Works site will increase our capacity to provide early-phase process chemistry services, for which we continue to see a growth in demand. It also will allow us to extend our line of services to pharma customers, and links effectively with our custom manufacturing services.'
Rhodia will begin staffing the site during November, with operations beginning in early 2004. Around 70 people will be employed initially, including 30 chemists, with the number of employees expected to increase to about 125 as capacity is more fully utilised.
The company intends to transfer all 45 employees from its Malvern, PA, development services operations to the Chambers Works site by early 2004. It recently closed its Boston, MA, development services operation, which employed 30 people; approximately one-third of the former Boston employees will transfer to the Chambers Works site.
'With this strategic move, Rhodia Pharma Solutions will have a North American facility in Chambers Works and European facilities in Annan and Dudley in the UK that provide a world-class base for both development services and custom manufacturing,' Green commented.