Opening soon – National Biologics Manufacturing Centre

12 Aug 2015

It’s been almost three years since the announcement was made as part of the government’s Strategy for UK Life Sciences to create a National centre aimed to significantly increase the UK’s manufacturing capability in biologics

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It’s been almost three years since the announcement was made as part of the government’s Strategy for UK Life Sciences to create a National centre aimed to significantly increase the UK’s manufacturing capability in biologics. In this time, the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) along with various partners and stakeholders, have been working tirelessly to make this aim a reality and in September 2015 the National Biologics Manufacturing Centre will open its doors giving companies access to state of the art facilities, equipment, and expertise to help develop, prove and commercialise the next generation of biologic products and processes.

The centre is a £38 million investment which has been established to support the growth of the UK biologics industry. Located in Darlington, the centre has been designed to handle mammalian, microbial and next generation biologic platforms, with the ability to scale up from millilitres to 200 litres and demonstrate innovative new process technologies. There is an extensive analytical suite and high throughput development capabilities, so users can fully characterise their product and optimise their process.

CPI is supporting the commercialisation of research by promoting collaboration with industry across the supply chain, from research through to manufacture and clinic. Utilising the new centre, CPI will help companies to commercialise ideas and take them to market faster and with minimal risk, our services are built around each of the following themes:

•Developing and integrating new and improved process technologies •Develop and demonstrate rapid and robust approaches to process development •Improved technologies for formulation, fill and finish •Developing and integrating new and improved analytical technologies •Train and develop workforce to match industry demand •Biologics factory of the future

Centre Overview •State of the art 5000 m² facility •12 laboratories- including analytical development suite, advanced processing suite and two GMP simulation suites •Open plan lecture theatre and conferencing space – 120 delegate capacity •Fully equipped, open plan office space

Equipment

The centre is equipped with not only conventional upstream and downstream processing equipment, but also state of the art analytical and process technologies. Many labs have been designed to be flexible so it is possible to modify each lab to meet the requirements of customers.

One of the primary goals of the centre is to be a paperless facility that utilises fully integrated systems to allow the most efficient and environmentally friendly method of working.

Location

The Centre is located at Central Park in Darlington. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) who fund the project, sanctioned a group of independent industry advisors to choose the location for the Centre. The group chose Darlington based on accessibility in the form of excellent transport links, particularly the East Coast Mainline, close proximity to existing pharmaceutical companies and relevant universities in the North of England in addition to growth opportunities within the Tees Valley Enterprise Zone.

The Central Park development is a 30-hectare site located in the centre of the town and is one of the regeneration flagship projects for the Tees Valley. The NBMC is located a 5 minute walk from Darlington Train Station making it easily accessible from both the North and South of the country.

CPI is your innovation partner to make your ideas a reality.