SGS's biosafety centre of excellence based in Glasgow has received the prestigious Business Leadership Award at Scotland's Life Sciences Annual Awards 2023, which took place at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
How SGS supported the development of COVID-19 vaccines
In February 2020, SGS in Glasgow, pioneered a rapid and safe testing strategy for a COVID-19 vaccine. In December, SGS committed to increasing its biosafety testing capacity, with a £10 million investment, to support the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccines throughout 2021 and 2022.
The project, completed in mid-2021, added 1,000m2 and 18 BSL-2 laboratories to the facility. The facility also made 35 new hires – taking headcount in the lab to a total of 150 expert staff. This demonstrates SGS's continued commitment to support biopharmaceutical product development and the Scottish economy as a whole.
With 30 years of experience supporting vaccine development and manufacturing, SGS is proud to have been involved with a number of COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Following this investment and expansion, SGS tested and certified thousands of vaccine batches by mid-2022, which corresponds to billions of doses given to the global population.
SGS’s exceptional work was led by Site Director Dr. Archie Lovatt, Quality Assurance Director Jane Horan, and Virology Director Dr. Christine McLean.
About the award
Over 700 industry leaders from the Scottish life sciences community attended the annual awards ceremony, which recognized industry-leading examples of innovation, investment, innovative collaboration, and business leadership.
Site Director Archie Lovatt was thrilled to receive the Business Leadership Award on behalf of everyone at SGS in Glasgow. He said: “This award is a reflection of the entire team’s hard work during an incredibly trying period. Their dedication and resilience have directly benefited billions of people globally. We’re incredibly proud to have played our part in creating a vaccine that helped save lives during an event as unprecedented as the COVID-19 pandemic.”
More information about the award can be found here: https://edinburghbioquarter.com/scotlands-life-sciences-dinner-and-awards-2023