Aesica Pharmaceuticals partnering with Durham and Leeds Universities to commercialise new manufacturing technology
CMO looking to identify alternative technologies to commercialise in 2013 following award of METRC Innovation Grant to develop improved or new API manufacturing processes
Newcastle, 18 December, 2012: Aesica, the global contract manufacturing organisation (CMO), announces its second major innovation board partnership following the recent annual Genesis conference, a famed hotbed of future innovation.
The METRC Innovation Awards support new research between universities and companies in the fields of nanotechnology, science and engineering. Aesica, the University of Durham and the University of Leeds were jointly awarded the grant to investigate and accelerate the development of processes that will improve cost efficiencies and increase manufacturing capacity at its Cramlington site.
Earlier this year, the company established the Aesica Innovation Board (AIB) to identify and commercialise new innovative technologies that help to bridge the growing R&D gap and the company is actively targeting academia and innovative businesses to form development partnerships with.
This latest partnership builds on the successful collaboration with Bradford University earlier in the year. The new partnership with the University of Durham and the University of Leeds will be tasked with developing new or improved routes for the manufacture of an API. A detailed kinetic study is already underway and based on this, new flow processes will be developed before being scaled up at the Aesica Cramlington plant.
"Professor Andrew Whiting from Durham University and Professor Frans Muller from Leeds University will work together on a new collaborative METRC-funded project with the global pharmaceutical manufacturer, Aesica Pharmaceuticals. Alternative manufacturing processes will be investigated to increase the manufacturing capacity of the API, as well as exploring how to achieve cost efficiencies at the Aesica Cramlington manufacturing site, which is based in the North East of England. If, as expected, this joint collaboration leads to commercialisation of new processes, it would become a key partnership." Prof. Steve Armes, Academic Director of METRC
"We are delighted to officially embark on this partnership with Andy at the University of Durham and Frans at the University of Leeds. Andy and Frans have been hugely supportive of the mandate of the Aesica Innovation Board: to bring together the best that industry and academia have to offer, in the interests of pharmaceutical innovation. The successful METRC application will allow us to invest in researching an improved manufacturing process, and critically, establish a successful model for future collaboration with Durham and Leeds universities" Barrie Rhodes, Director of Technology Development, Aesica Pharmaceuticals.
About Aesica:
Aesica supplies contract development and contract manufacturing services for Formulated Products and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients to a host of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies and emerging biotechnology organisations.
The company's uniqueness lies in its flexible and bespoke approach to service delivery, coupled with its ability to develop products from the initial clinical stage through to final commercial supply. It is this all-encompassing offering combined with its dedication to exceptional standards of service that truly sets Aesica apart from its counterparts.
· Aesica is one of the UK's fastest growing companies and over the last five years has more than trebled its turnover.
· The company currently employs approximately 1,300 people.
· In addition to its headquarters in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, Aesica has development and manufacturing sites across Europe including Cramlington, Nottingham and Queenborough in the UK, as well as sites in Monheim and Zwickau in Germany and Pianezza in Italy. It also has sales representation in San Diego and Shanghai.
· Aesica's vision is to become the number one supplier of APIs and formulated products to the pharmaceutical industry
For media enquiries, please contact Alex Heeley or Tristan Jervis at De Facto Communications on: +44 (0) 207 861 3019 or +44 (0) 207 861 3043 or e-mail; [email protected].
About METRC:
METRC is a centre specialising in nanotechnology, science and engineering research and applying this to industry. We pool expertise from universities across the North of England to help you to accelerate the development of new products and processes.
For media enquiries, please contact Tristan Jervis on +44 (0) 207 861 3019 or e-mail [email protected].