Arcinova and the University of Nottingham Announce Grant for Continuous Processing Technology

Arcinova, a UK-based contract research and development organization (CRDO), has announced the award of a £1.5 million (over 2.1 million USD) Innovate UK grant for the development of flexible modular manufacturing technologies and to demonstrate the operating feasibility of innovative, continuous pharmaceutical production tools, the company announced in an April 13, 2018 press release.

The project, which will span a three-year period, will be undertaken in collaboration with a team led by Professor Mike George, with Professors Pete Licence and Sir Martyn Poliakoff, at the University of Nottingham. The aim of the project is to develop a continuous, flexible modular manufacturing technology platform that will enable Arcinova to handle increasingly complex chemistries with more discreet manufacturing steps. 

The platform will be used in operations for which manufacturing inventories need to be kept low and product purity needs to be maximized, manufacturing throughput and efficiency are maintained at a high level, and equipment changeover can be rapidly facilitated to cope with low batch numbers. The developed continuous modular manufacturing technology will be easily scalable, with a reduced manufacturing footprint when compared to more traditional, batch-reactor approaches. The technologies will enable Arcinova to enhance manufacturing capacity and minimize inventories for highly reactive hazardous processes. 

The flexible modular manufacturing technology platform will enhance Arcinova’s existing infrastructure in GMP and non-GMP assets, which include 5-L and 20-L GMP vessel streams, and build on its current capabilities in continuous processing technology. Arcinova works across drug substance synthesis; drug product manufacture; chemistry, manufacturing and control; bioanalytical and metabolism services; radiolabeling synthesis; and synthesis of toxic/highly potent APIs. It also provides consultancy services and works in partnership with companies throughout the drug development process.

Ian Shott CBE, CEO of Arcinova said in the press release: “I have spent over 20 years championing the way that pharmaceuticals are manufactured in the UK and have been an enthusiastic advocate for new manufacturing technologies including continuous manufacturing and synthetic biology as enablers for new and radically different pharmaceutical production approaches. This focus on improving productivity is laid out in the 2017 whitepaper on UK Industrial Strategy. I was delighted to learn of our successful Innovate UK grant, which will enable Arcinova to offer a compelling, innovative, and simplified route to high-grade pharmaceutical manufacture.”

Mike George, professor of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham, said in the release: “My colleagues and I at Nottingham are firmly convinced that flow chemistry can transform chemical manufacture in the UK, and this partnership with Arcinova is an opportunity to turn our vision into reality.”

Launched in 2016, Arcinova operates from a 15,000-m² facility on a 34-acre site, which has benefited from decades of investment as a key research and development center for Sanofi and Covance, allowing it to offer a unique range of complementary on-site capabilities as a CRDO.

Source: Arcinova