NEWS
Almac , Quotient open UK API expansions
Almac Sciences has completed the first stage of its GMP API facility expansion at its headquarters site in Craigavon , Northern Ireland . This has seen two 1,000 L glass-lined reactors added with associated filtration and drying equipment allowing the manufacture of 50-100 kg batches of API . It complements the R & D technology centre opened in 2021 for the biocatalysis , flow chemistry and peptides businesses .
The company described this as the latest stage of a multi-million-pound investment programme to support increased manufacturing demands . The programme will create manufacturing centres of excellence to support small molecule API production at up to 200-300 kg scale , as well as increased capacity for peptide APIs .
Active recruitment to fill production technician , engineering and QA positions and the next phase of development are both now under way . Further manufacturing and warehousing expansions will be announced in due course , the company added .
Meanwhile , Quotient Sciences held an official ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the opening of its new , £ 6 million drug substance manufacturing facility in Alnwick , UK , on 9 December . Among those present were Sharon Todd , CEO of the Society of the Chemical Industry , and Quotient ’ s SVP and head of candidate development , Paul Ryan .
The expansion , which was completed in October , features multipurpose capacity of up to 15 GMP reactor streams with reactor volumes ranging from 5 to 150L , and both batch or continuous flow chemistry technologies . According to Ryan , it was “ a necessary step in allowing us to better support our customers ’ programmes as they progress through the development pathway ”.
About 80-100 new scientific and technical jobs are being created at the site , which has been in existence for 40 years this year . It currently employs 200 people across scientific disciplines including process chemistry , solid-state characterisation , radiosynthesis , bioanalysis , and formulation development . Further expansion to meet growing demand is also expected .
Two combine on antifouling
Swedish biotech I-Tech and Lanxess have combined their respective marine antifouling technologies for the first time , with what they claim to be promising results . This follows tests on 35 paint formulations with a 12-month lifespan in static environments in the Caribbean , the Eastern North Sea , the North Mediterranean and the Sea of Japan .
The formulations combined I-Tech ’ s Selektope , a non-metal active agent that prevents barnacle attachment on submerged surfaces such as ship hulls and other marine installations , with Lanxess ’ s Sea-Nine 211N and Ultra families of biocides based on the active substance DCOIT . Both are widely approved in the ship repair and shipbuilding markets .
After six months all of the test paint formulations had performed as well as , or better than , commercial paint references . Formulations containing 2 % Sea-Nine Ultra and 0.1 % Selektope “ showed excellent performance at reduced total biocide concentrations ”, the two companies stated .
With the number of approved biocides available to paint manufacturers decreasing significantly during the past decade , Lanxess added , “ finding new ways to combine existing biocides is essential . Collaborative R & D efforts between biocide suppliers play a key role in supporting the optimisation of future antifouling coating technologies by providing proof of concept and initial R & D findings .”
9