ISPE Announces 2017 Facility of the Year Award Winners

The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) and its Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) program announced the following 2017 category award winners on Feb. 6, 2017:

• Abbott (Operational Excellence)

• Bristol-Myers Squibb (Facility Integration)

• Cook Pharmica (Equipment Innovation)

• Eli Lilly and Company (Process Innovation and Facility of the Future)

• Jazz Pharmaceuticals Ireland Limited (Project Execution).

FOYA’s judging panel has also awarded honorable mentions to:

• Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation

• Novartis-Penn Center for Advanced Cellular Therapies

• Kalbio Global Medika.

Projects selected for the FOYA program set the standard for pharmaceutical facilities of the future by demonstrating excellence in facility design, construction, and operations. “We are proud to honor these eight organizations that share ISPE’s commitment to innovate and advance pharmaceutical manufacturing technology for the benefit of all global patients,” said John Bournas, ISPE CEO and president, in the press release.

Abbott is the winner of the Operational Excellence category for the success of its “Operational Excellence-A New Quality Approach" project initiated at the Abbott Diagnostics facility in Longford, Ireland. The site has increased productivity, improved changeover efficiencies, eliminated backorders, and enhanced product quality-while also reducing cost per unit, cycle times, equipment downtime, and inventory holdings.

Bristol-Myers Squibb won the Facility Integration category for its Biologics Development Building and the Clinical Manufacturing Building projects located in Devens, Massachusetts, USA. These facilities were recognized as outstanding examples of how to integrate new capabilities within an existing plant through careful design, good collaboration, as well as creative engineering.

Cook Pharmica is the winner of the Equipment Innovation category for its Flexible Filling Line project in Bloomington, Indiana, USA. This collaborative development between owner, suppliers, and engineering experts delivered a novel application of commercially available and custom developed equipment innovation manufacturing solutions that drove superior commercial market changing technology and supply chain flexibility in a unique “ready-to-use” vial platform.

Eli Lilly and Company has been awarded winner of the Process Innovation category for its Continuous Direct Compression Manufacturing Kits 2 & 3 project located in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA and Carolina, Puerto Rico. Their forward thinking approach brought on the implementation of a continuous direct compression process and other process innovations in their oral solid dose (OSD) facilities across their manufacturing network.

Eli Lilly and Company has also been named winner of the Facility of the Future category for its process development, production platform commitment, and deployment of three replicate operational continuous OSD production facilities. Fundamental to the success of the project was the development of the progressive mass balance control scheme anchored by advanced automation and PAT technology-key to ensuring consistent control, low process variability, and high quality assurance.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Ireland Limited is the winner of the Project Execution category for its creation of a greenfield manufacturing facility in Athlone, Ireland. Although the company had no prior experience internally on building or operating a manufacturing facility, the team completed the project within an aggressive time schedule and under budget.

Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation received an honorable mention for its facility in West Columbia, South Carolina. The Nephron project was recognized for its use and integration of technologies such as laser guided vehicles, automated warehousing, robotics to eliminate human intervention, and track-and-trace technology.

Novartis-Penn Center for Advanced Cellular Therapies received an honorable mention for its Center for Advanced Cellular Therapies (CACT) project in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The facility leverages pharmaceutical engineering principles to successfully merge academic, corporate, and medical considerations to advance personalized medicine.

Kalbio Global Medika received an honorable mention for its greenfield Biotech Facility project in Jakarta, Indonesia. Kalbio’s young project team demonstrates the talent and potential for biomanufacturing in this emerging market.

The 2017 FOYA Category Winners will be formally recognized at the ISPE FOYA Banquet on June 6, 2017, in Arlington, Virginia. The banquet, held in conjunction with the ISPE/FDA/PQRI Quality Manufacturing Conference, will feature presentations from the FOYA judging panel and other industry leaders.

Source: ISPE