Almac offers US innovators integrated solid state services
Almac originally launched its SSC offering at last year’s CPhI worldwide conference in Frankfurt, Germany as part of a wide ranging effort to expand on its core strengths of contract R&D, custom manufacturing and analytics.
The SSC service, which is based at Almac’s HQ in Craigavon in the UK, offers drug firms the full range of crystallisation, polymorph screening, characterisation and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) form selection capabilities.
In a press statement, Almac Sciences’ group leader of physical sciences, Linda McCausland, said: “By exploring polymorphs, salts, co-crystals and amorphous materials Almac can dramatically improve the characteristics of APIs.”
Rosaleen McGuckin, Almac Science’s VP of business development, echoed these thoughts in an interview with in-PharmaTechnologist and highlighted some of ways the company’s approach differs from the competition.
Dr McGuckin explained that although the SSC service is available standalone, as is common across the industry, the real attraction of Almac’s offering is its integration with the firm’s existing manufacturing and process development expertise.
With regard to API polymorphs for example, she said that: “Unlike some [solid state chemistry firms] that only provide salt screening services, Almac’s offering can include contract manufacture, guaranteeing pharmaceutical firms that the correct version of the API is made.”
McGuckin went on to say that even when used as a screening only service, Almac’s provision of manufacturing process data will cover all possible API polymorphs, providing clients with an excellent foundation to create a robust intellectual property position.
She also said that despite the slowdown in R&D investment sweeping the drug sector, Almac was keen to maintain its core client base of innovator firms rather than generics producers to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.
Although UK-based at the moment, Almac Sciences is scheduled to open its first US centre in Pennsylvania next year. McGuckin said that the firm is “currently reviewing the capabilities it will install at the new site and solid state chemistry services are one potential addition.”
