ISPE Announces Facility of the Year Awards Category Winners for 2016

The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) program announced its 2016 Category Award winners in a Feb. 1, 2016 press release. The winners are: Baxter BioPharma Solutions (Operational Excellence), Ethicon, LLC (Sustainability), Genentech (Process Innovation), Janssen Vaccines AG (Project Execution), Pfizer, Inc. (Equipment Innovation), and Takara Bio, Inc. (Facility Integration). FOYA’s panel of judges also awarded Honorable Mentions to Greater Pharma Co., Ltd., University of Strathclyde, and West Pharmaceuticals.

“These facilities epitomize the principles of the FOYA program,” said John Bournas, ISPE President and CEO, in the press release. “ISPE is proud to honor these nine teams for their exemplary projects and outstanding dedication to creating high quality medicines for people around the world.”

Baxter BioPharma Solutions is the winner of the Operational Excellence award for the expansion of its parenteral manufacturing plant in Halle, Germany. The facility demonstrates operational excellence principals and innovative manufacturing concepts with state-of-the-art isolator technology, combined with high flexibility for rapid changeover and broad flexibility to manufacture a wide variety of liquid formulations.

Ethicon, LLC won the Sustainability award for its facility in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. The site’s sustainability efforts resulted in energy reduction of 26% (4.4 million kWh), and water reduction of 9% (1.25 million gallons), while increasing production volume by 11%, compared to 2010 consumption levels.

Genentech (a member of the Roche Group) has been named winner of the Process Innovation award for its large-scale Cell Culture Biologics Drug Substance Plant 2 (CCP2). Located in Vacaville, California, this facility revamped an existing CCP2 Facility to support new process technology, which resulted in significant savings in capital ($50M).

Janssen Vaccines AG is the recipient of the Project Execution award for its “Fast Track Refurbishment for Ebola Vaccine Production” project based in Bern, Switzerland. In response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Janssen committed to accelerating the development of its candidate Ebola vaccine. Through parallel activities in process development, facility design, and construction, the facility was completed for engineering runs by September 2015.

Pfizer is the winner of the Equipment Innovation award for its Portable, Continuous, Miniature and Modular (PCMM) prototype unit for oral solid dosage forms, which transforms raw materials into uncoated tablets in minutes. The equipment fits into a portable facility called a POD that can be shipped to any location to get medicines to patients when and where they are needed. The PCMM model increases project speed, enhances product quality, and reduces project cost and environmental footprint.

Takara Bio has been awarded winner of the Facility Integration award for its Center for Gene and Cell Processing (CGCP) in Shiga, Japan. In order to improve operational and cost efficiencies, Takara housed cell products, viral vectors, and recombinant proteins all within the same facility. To eliminate risk of cross contamination, Takara incorporated well-considered facility and operational containment measures, including a restricted access barrier system (RABS) sterilization process using dry-type vaporized hydrogen peroxide, segregated air-conditioning systems, and full-height partitions to close contamination pathways.

Greater Pharma Co. Ltd. received Honorable Mention for its facility in Bangkok, Thailand. Greater Pharma is the first of its kind to apply western standards to design, build, and operate a pharmaceutical facility for tablets, capsules, sachets, and liquids to produce pharmaceuticals for the local Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market.

University of Strathclyde received Honorable Mention for its Centre for Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation (CMAC) in Glasgow, Scotland. The collaboration between industry, academia, and government represents the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing and supply chain R&D framework. The students working with this technology in a collaborative environment will be the pipeline for the pharmaceutical professionals of the future.

West Pharmaceuticals received Honorable Mention for its facility expansion in Kinston, North Carolina. The facility was upgraded to align with industry trends and meet regulatory requirements. West has been recognized for its industry leading efforts to align primary components manufacturing process with current industry trends and standards.

Source: ISPE