Specials Laboratory to supply clinical trials service to UK hospitals

Published: 29-Mar-2010

New service aims to meet the product manufacturing needs of NHS-based clinical trials

Hospitals across the UK will be able to take advantage of a new service aimed at meeting the product manufacturing needs of NHS-based clinical trials.

The Specials Laboratory, based in Northumberland, is to specialise in the supply of non-sterile products for use in small-scale clinical studies direct to hospitals after the specialist firm was licensed for the manufacture of investigational medicinal products (IMPs).

The new IMP service will assist clinical trial pharmacists and technicians, university medical schools and research doctors.

Operating from three MHRA-approved facilities, the company complies with current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) and provides in-house Quality Person (QP) release, which will ensure products delivered to hospitals will be made to the highest possible quality standards.

‘Our quality-led manufacturing heritage allows us to produce virtually any non-sterile dosage form,’ said Robert Sludden, Quality and Technical Services Manager at The Specials Laboratory.

‘The company is also able to offer customers an experienced technical team that includes several pharmacists, senior pharmacy technicians and QPs – many with an extensive NHS background.’

With more hospitals opting to subcontract their IMP manufacturing needs, The Specials Laboratory is looking to build relationships with relevant NHS departments by offering to be their outsourced manufacturing partner supplying products for smaller clinical trials.

‘Hospital departments will be able to source a wide range of products from The Specials Laboratory for their IMP manufacturing requirements, including oral liquids, capsules, sachets, ointments, creams, ear and nasal drops, enema solutions, suppositories and pessaries,' added Sludden.

Set-up over a decade ago, The Specials Laboratory employs around 130 people and is a leading UK manufacturer of unlicensed medicines, which are bespoke for individual patients and supplied to community and hospital pharmacists and doctors.

See more

You may also like

Manufacturing

PCCA buys the specials business and Arjun Products from UDG Healthcare for £23.5m

Read more
Deal includes The Specials Laboratory and Craig & Hayward in Northumberland, UK

Trending Articles

  1. Adragos Pharma acquires Sanofi's Maisons-Alfort sterile fill-finish facility to strengthen European injectables network Global CDMO Adragos Pharma has completed the acquisition of one of Europe's largest sterile injectables manufacturing sites from Sanofi in Maisons-Alfort, France, adding high-volume pre-filled syringe capabilities to its existing fill-finish operations in Switzerland and Livron
  2. Swiss Rockets collaborates with Lonza to advance Torqur’s oncology drug candidate bimiralisib into late-stage clinical development Lonza to provide cGMP manufacturing and technical support to advance bimiralisib into late-stage clinical development
  3. FDA approves Lilly's oral GLP-1 pill Foundayo for obesity with no food or water restrictions Eli Lilly has received FDA approval for Foundayo (orforglipron), a once-daily oral GLP-1 receptor agonist for adults with obesity or overweight that requires no fasting or water restrictions, with clinical trial participants on the highest dose losing an average of 27 pounds
  4. Phesi analysis finds 6.7% of global clinical trials affected by Middle East disruption A Phesi analysis of more than 65,000 active clinical trials has found that 4361 studies are impacted by Middle East disruption, with Phase III oncology trials most exposed and all top ten global pharma companies holding significant investigator site presence in affected countries
  5. Marchesini Group at Interpack 2026 Sustainability, primary packaging, aseptic production, robotics and digital innovation at the heart of this edition

Upcoming event

Making Pharmaceuticals

21–22 April 2026 | Exhibition | Coventry, UK See all

You may also like

Manufacturing

PCCA buys the specials business and Arjun Products from UDG Healthcare for £23.5m

Deal includes The Specials Laboratory and Craig & Hayward in Northumberland, UK
Cell & Gene Therapy

First CAR-T therapy for solid tumours set to launch in China

Claudin18.2-targeting CAR-T therapy satri-cel (CT041) is expected to become the first treatment of its kind for solid tumours, offering a new option for patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancers
Manufacturing

Virica Biotech and FUJIFILM Biosciences collaborate to boost AAV vector yields in HEK293 manufacturing system

Virica Biotech has announced a collaboration with FUJIFILM Biosciences to co-develop an off-the-shelf enhancer-media solution combining Virica's VSE technology with FUJIFILM's BalanCD HEK293 system, targeting improved AAV productivity and process robustness for gene therapy manufacturers
Marketing

Ofichem consolidates six brands into single integrated CDMO and pharmaceutical supplier identity

Dutch family-owned pharmaceutical company Ofichem has unified its six business units — spanning API, drug substance, drug product and distribution — under a single trading name
You need to be a subscriber to read this article.
Click here to find out more.
Manufacturing

Accelerating the development of bispecific antibodies

Sherry Gu, Executive Vice President and CTO at WuXi Biologics, explains how the use of comprehensive tailored approaches can enhance bispecific antibody productivity, stability and quality while accelerating their delivery to market
Analysis

Conjugation chemistry key to unlocking next-generation oligonucleotide therapies, says Bachem

As demand for oligonucleotide therapeutics accelerates, Bachem's Director of Oligonucleotide Production explains how conjugation chemistry is helping CDMOs overcome delivery challenges
Manufacturing

UK pharmaceutical manufacturers struggling to meet F-Gas compliance amid ageing cooling infrastructure

A new Aggreko report reveals that nearly all UK pharmaceutical manufacturers are facing barriers to upgrading cooling systems ahead of the accelerating F-Gas phase-down timeline
Subscribe now