ADVERTORIAL
Serious about difficult science: Navigating complexity from molecule to manufacture
J j sciences @ almacgroup. com www. almacgroup. com
Dr Simon Hamilton, VP of business development at Almac Sciences, discusses why complex molecules demand connected scientific thinking and how investment and expertise are shaping its development and manufacturing approach.
Q: Almac Sciences has adopted the positioning‘ Serious about difficult science’. What sits behind it? Drug development rarely follows a predictable path. Molecules are becoming more challenging, processes can be difficult to scale and development timelines remain demanding.
Serious About Difficult Science captures our approach to those challenges: applying scientific rigour, specialist technologies and manufacturing experience where they can make the greatest difference. For us, it is less a tagline than a statement about where we add value, particularly when conventional approaches are not enough.
Q: What does increasing molecular complexity mean for development strategies? It makes early scientific understanding increasingly important. A challenging synthetic route, physical property or scale-up issue rarely exists in isolation. Chemistry, analytical science, solid-state understanding and manufacturability are closely connected.
Our model brings those disciplines together so that potential issues can be identified earlier and solutions developed with the later stages of the programme in mind. The objective is not simply to solve today ' s scientific problem, but to develop an approach capable of progressing towards clinical and commercial manufacture.
Q: How are your manufacturing capabilities evolving to support that? We are expanding our small molecule API manufacturing capability with a new 30,000 ft 2( 2,800 m 2) facility that will triple GMP capacity, supporting production from hundreds of kilograms through to low metric-tonne scale.
The important point is the continuity this creates. Process knowledge developed in the laboratory can remain connected through technology transfer, scale-up and ultimately commercial manufacture.
Q: Bringing the former Arran Chemical Company under the Almac Sciences brand is another part of this evolution. Why was that important? It is about presenting a clearer and more connected business to the market. Historically, different identities reflected how parts of the organisation had developed, but they did not always make it easy for customers to see the full breadth of expertise available to them. Bringing everything together under Almac Sciences gives us one identity and a more coherent way of presenting our capabilities. It also reflects how we increasingly want to work with customers: looking beyond an individual service or site to understand the wider scientific and manufacturing requirements of their programme. That vertical integration is particularly valuable when molecules and supply chains become more complex.
Q: How does integrated CMC fit into this picture? Integration becomes particularly valuable when a decision in one discipline has consequences elsewhere. Drug substance characteristics can influence formulation, manufacturability and ultimately the finished product.
Our integrated approach connects drug substance, physical sciences, drug product and clinical supply expertise. The value is not simply access to more services; it is better-informed decisions, scientific continuity and fewer handovers as programmes progress.
Q: As programmes become more demanding, what should companies expect from their development partner? Increasingly, I think it comes down to the ability to see beyond an individual activity. Capacity remains important, but difficult programmes also require scientific judgement and teams capable of understanding how decisions made today affect the next stage.
That is ultimately what ' Serious about difficult science ' represents for Almac Sciences: bringing together the right expertise around complex development challenges and helping promising molecules progress with greater confidence.
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