New webcam gives Cook competitive edge
webcam services, an innovation that will enable both customers and
regulatory agencies to view production as it occurs.
The webcam technology is part of >Cook Pharmacia's new $70 million (€59.6 million) biotech plant, which has just finished construction to provide manufacturing services to the burgeoning biotech industry.
The Webcam services will be provided via a secure Internet connection to customers, to help ensure manufacturing quality control and customer satisfaction.
The company will also provide Webcam services to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its international equivalents, pending client approval.
"Transparency is critical in the biopharmaceutical field. Customers need to have as much confidence in our work as they have in their own," said Cook Pharmica president Jerry Arthur.
Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly recognising the benefits of outsourcing their product manufacturing and this transparency may be what gives Cook Pharmica the edge over other CMOs in this highly competitive industry.
Companies who feel uncertain about outsourcing their manufacturing may benefit from this technology, as it may help them regain a sense of control over the quality of the manufacturing process of their product.
Currently, 35 per cent of the pharmaceuticals produced are created through biotechnology. That number is expected to rise to 70 percent of all pharmaceuticals in the market by 2012.
There are more than 300 biotech drug products and vaccines currently in clinical trials targeting more than 200 diseases, including various cancers, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and arthritis.
Cook Pharmica's new plant will provide a flexible, scaleable and transferable manufacturing process that its customers can take back to their own facilities, a key competitive advantage for both Pharmica and its customers.
Manufacturing could begin as early as the third quarter of 2006.
