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. Roche wins CE mark for first blood-based immunoassay to identify ApoE4 Alzheimer's risk variant Roche's Elecsys ApoE4 test has received CE mark approval as the first in-vitro diagnostic immunoassay to detect the ApoE4 genetic variant from a simple blood sample, potentially eliminating the need for confirmatory DNA testing in Alzheimer's patients who do not carry the variant
  2. You need to be a subscriber to read this article.
    Click here to find out more.
    From proof-of-concept to commercial reality: a turning point for microneedle drug delivery A 50% reduction in microarray patch production costs demonstrates that scalable, automated MAP manufacturing is now commercially viable — clearing a critical barrier to mainstream pharmaceutical adoption
  3. Destination Russia for new NYK Logistics warehouse <p>Logistics specialist NYK is expanding its market presence with the launch of new warehousing operation in Moscow, Russia.</p>
  4. 3PBIOVIAN and Colombia's National Cancer Institute partner to develop first locally produced oncology biosimilar The CDMO has signed an agreement with Colombia's Instituto Nacional de Cancerología to develop a biosimilar monoclonal antibody for an oncology indication, with technology transfer planned to enable domestic manufacturing
  5. You need to be a subscriber to read this article.
    Click here to find out more.
    Moving with speed and scale: innovative, material-sparing approaches to accelerate clinical development As early-stage drug development is often hindered by limited API supply, rising costs and tight timelines, material-sparing technologies are helping companies to progress faster with less

Upcoming event

DCAT Week

23–26 March 2026 | Conference | New York, US 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
Ingredients

dsm-firmenich launches ModulaSENSE Bitter to tackle bitterness in oral drug formulations

The new taste modulation technology combines bitter blockers, maskers and sweeteners with receptor-based analysis to help pharmaceutical formulators improve the palatability of oral medicines
Manufacturing

Clariant opens first US pharmaceutical-grade PEG excipient manufacturing site in Texas

Clariant has expanded its Clear Lake facility in Texas to produce GMP-compliant pharmaceutical-grade polyethylene glycol excipients, marking its first US-based manufacturing site for the products and strengthening supply chain resilience for North American and Latin American pharma customers
Design & Build

ESTEVE CDMO expands spray drying and high-potency containment capacity at Girona facility

ESTEVE CDMO has announced plans to add a 3000-square-metre production unit at its Celrà site in Spain to house additional spray drying equipment and high-potency containment suites, with the first new GEA spray dryer due online in Q1 2027
You need to be a subscriber to read this article.
Click here to find out more.
Finance

Oncoinvent patent win and CellCarta deal highlight IP power in oncology innovation

New patent protection for Radspherin and a global exclusivity deal for Aspyre Lung underline how strong IP strategies are driving competitive advantage in cancer therapeutics and diagnostics
Research & Development

ProImmune and Roslin Institute collaborate to develop species-specific Ankyron binders for veterinary immunology

Immunological reagents specialist ProImmune has partnered with the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute to generate and validate novel species-specific binding proteins for porcine, bovine, avian and salmonid research, addressing a critical shortage of high-quality veterinary immunology reagents
Research & Development

Siemens Healthineers launches blood-based pTau217 and BDTau research assays for Alzheimer's and neurological disease

Siemens Healthineers has made two automated brain biomarker assays available for research use, offering scientists a less invasive blood-based alternative to cerebrospinal fluid testing for investigating neurological disease progression and early Alzheimer's detection
Subscribe now