Pharmaceutics International branching out
expansion, an acquisition and a new partnership.
The US-based contract manufacturer has recently opened a new 30,000 sq. ft development, aseptic filling, and good manufacturing practice (cGMP) production plant near Baltimore, Maryland in the US. The company specialises in the formulation development and manufacturing of solid and semi-solid dosage forms of both clinical trial and commercial drug products, and Steve King, senior vice president of the company said that the expansion, which was 18 months in the planning phase, now allows the firm to fulfil its customer demands for the aseptic filling of vials. He also indicated that further investments were being planned by the company. Initially the aseptic filling line will fill containment and high potency small molecules for clinical trials and the commercial supply of niche products. The firm also has a lyophilised product manufacturing capability on site. In addition, the company's existing development work has been moved to a dedicated space in the new building, where there are multiple manufacturing and containment suites to support development projects for products before they are moved on to the manufacturing phase. In addition to the new site, Pharmaceutics International already has two facilities in the US and one in the UK. The UK site was gained through an acquisition made in January of preformulation and formulation development services firm Pharmaterials for an undisclosed amount. The purchase was made to extend the development capabilities and service offerings of Pharmaceutics International's business, adding prefomulation, polymorphism, salt screening and co-crystal services to the company's repertoire. King said that the firm had been actively expanding its range of services through alliances in new drug delivery ventures. Meanwhile, the company has also just formed a new partnership with another UK firm Bio-Images Research, which develops imaging technology for clinical trials that allows researchers to see how effective treatments are to specific areas of the body. Through the alliance, Bio-Images Research will be able to bring its technology to the North America market. "This collaboration with Bio-Images will enable PII to provide more extensive service for our customer base," said King. "Bio-Image's expertise will help with many of the new technologies PII is offering in drug delivery."
