UK biopharmaceutical manufacturing boost

The UK government has awarded a prestigious grant to a biotech consortium led by consultants BioPharm Services, and supported by Avecia and Cambridge Antibody Technology. The three-year project will develop a knowledge management model to help biopharmaceutical manufacturers bring new products from development to manufacture by ensuring consistency, speeding development and reducing errors. The model optimizes manufacturing processes by identifying cost-effective options that minimize capital investment and maximize asset utilization. Project leader Andrew Sinclair of BioPharm said: "Product development in this industry can take anything up to nine years. We are aware that many biopharmaceutical manufacturers are failing to capitalize on the benefits of experience gained both across and within projects. Currently data on process, manufacturing, plant performance and costs all exist in isolation. We want to link those datasets to create a powerful, integrated decision support tool. We're developing a knowledge database and the software platform that will allow scientists, engineers, business managers and marketing people to access and use the data to support business, manufacturing protocols, validation documentation, product data and all the other documentation needed to bring a product to market."

www.biopharmservices.com