Sharp’s relocation: ‘Reduces the risks, costs, and supply chain complexity’
The facility in Bethlehem, PA was acquired by Sharp in 2017 for $14m. Sharp, a member of the contract packaging and clinical supply services company UDG Healthcare, invested an additional $9m to refit the facility and relocate services from its Phonexiville site.
Sharp stated that the capabilities offered at the Bethlehem site will provide support for multiple global Phase III studies.
The Bethlehem plant offers fully integrated, co-located clinical services including, formulation development, analytical services, clinical manufacturing, packaging, clinical storage, distribution, and interactive response technology.
Frank Lis, president of Sharp Clinical Services said in a statement, “With the Bethlehem facility, we’ve co-located our industry leading clinical services at one site – this dramatically reduces the risks, costs and supply chain complexity for our clients as we support them through development and every trial phase.”
The Bethlehem site has 1.5m cubic feet of capacity for clinical services located on a 14 acre site. Increasing pallet space for cold and controlled-temperature storage by around 50%, it also houses a small scale commercial packaging capabilities for scale up commercialization.
"There’s also room for further expansion at the Bethlehem site, with 14 acres of land still available, and we plan to add to bolster our capabilities here in the coming years in line with the needs of our clients as part of a global investment plan,” Lis told us.
The company plans to expand this capacity and introduce new capabilities at the site with a $1m equipment investment plan. This investment will see the addition of automated syringe assembly/labeling, vial labeling as well as and automated pouch filling equipment.
Lis explained that the company also has built out its lab capabilities for analytical research and formulation development.
Within the past few years Sharp has invested significantly across its business, including $11m at its new Clinical Services Center of Excellence in Wales, and an additional $11m on enhancements to its injectable and cold chain capabilities in the US, Belgium, and Netherlands.
Sharp also recently announced a preferred partner agreement with Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing. The relationship enables Sharp to augment its services with isolator-based sterile filling for syringes, vials, and cartridges for the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.
