Vectura Group has announced an expansion of its capabilities to handle and develop HPAPIs at its Chippenham facility in the UK. The project will include the installation of six containment isolators, housing development manufacturing equipment for dispensing, blending, co-milling, jet-milling, spray-drying and blister-filling, into a product development manufacturing laboratory.
The facility will increase the containment capabilities at the site, and will reportedly allow Vectura scientists to safely handle APIs with an occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 0.1 µg/m3. The isolators will allow flexible set up of equipment within them, expanding the variety of inhaled drug development projects that can be undertaken for customers. Installation and validation of all equipment is projected to be completed early in 2021.
Geraldine Venthoye, Vectura’s Chief Scientific Officer and EVP Product Development, said: “As a leading inhalation development company, we are committed to developing capabilities to meet our customers’ needs. Many inhaled drugs, targeting, for example, asthma and COPD, rely on high potency because of the small doses delivered, so this investment is crucial to ensure we have the physical capabilities to go alongside our scientists’ expertise to develop medicines and treatments in the future.”