Pharmaceutical Sciences
England's Northwest has a strong biotechnology and pharmaceuticals sector with particular research expertise and commercial capability in pharmaceutical production and formulation. Also closely related is the biomanufacturing strength. More than twenty companies operate in this area from development through to market and the region employs more a quarter of the UK's pharmaceutical and chemical sector's workforce.
In addition, the NW is home to internationally recognised academic groups, such as the University of Manchester's School of Pharmacy -the highest ranked school of pharmacy in the UK.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca has a major manufacturing site in the UK at
Macclesfield in Cheshire, which includes primary, secondary
production. AstraZeneca employs a total of 2,500 people at the
Macclesfield site. The Macclesfield site is within a few miles of
AstraZeneca's largest UK R&D site at Alderley Park in
Cheshire and has recently undergone significant expansion including
a £37m tabletting plant to accommodate increasing demand for
its schizophrenia treatment, Seroquel. AstraZeneca has also
recently opened a £24 million large scale laboratory at
Macclesfield to increase the company's ability to support the
early stages of new drug development.
Avecia
Avecia, formerly Zeneca Specialities, was created in
June 1999 following the chemical industry's largest ever
private investment buyout. Avecia operates globally in the
chemicals, agrochemical, pharmaceutical and biologics sectors.
Avecia Biotechnology is a world leader in advanced medicines
production, including DNA medicines, peptide pharmaceuticals and
biologics. Its corporate HQ is in Manchester.
Sanofi-Aventis
Sanofi-Aventis, has a site at Holmes Chapel in Cheshire.
The Holmes Chapel production facility is a strategic centre for the
manufacture of respiratory medicines, employing around 600 staff
and this includes a respiratory medicines research unit. Recent
investment in the site will support modernisation.
Bristol-Myers
Squibb
BMS's site at Moreton on the Wirral Peninsula near
Liverpool, houses the Pharmaceutical Research Institute (PRI). The
PRI is focused on research, development and formulation for
pharmaceuticals. It represents one third of BMS's product
development capability, with the remainder in New Brunswick, US.
Two major BMS products, currently worth c.£500 million in
sales, have come out of Moreton and the site has an ongoing
upgrading and development programme.
UCB Celltech Manufacturing Services
UCB Celltech Manufacturing Services is located in Ashton-Under-Lyne
(to the East of Manchester) and provides contract manufacturing
services to the Celltech Group and external customers. A centre of
excellence for the commercial management and supply of
pharmaceuticals, the site has expertise in Solid Dose, Sterile and
Dry Powder Inhaler production.
Eli Lilly
& Co.
Eli Lilly's 45-acre site was established in 1945 by Distillers
and manufactures animal health and human health products. Eli Lilly
acquired the site in 1963. The site was expanded in the 1980s to
accommodate new developments in biotechnology and now employs about
600 people. Eli Lilly are producing products including human growth
hormone (Humantropea™), insulin (Humulina™,
Humaloga™), parathyroid hormone (Forteoa™) and
activated protein C (Zovanta™) and is a world wide supplier
of Capreomycin, a last line defence for TB. The site contributed
strongly to the Queen's Award to Industry to Eli Lilly in 1996
and is now undergoing further expansion to support human growth
hormone production.
SAFC Pharma
Part of the Sigma-Aldrich group of companies, provides contract
manufacturing services for small scale manufacture of fine
chemicals and pharmaceuticals to GMP at their facility in
Manchester.
INyX Pharma
Inyx Pharma serves markets in Europe, the Middle East
and Asia. Inyx Pharma operates a 60,000-square foot manufacturing
facility and 15,000-square foot laboratory site in Runcorn,
Cheshire. These facilities are ISO 9001 accredited and are cGMP and
compliant with FDA, the Canadian and European regulatory
bodies.
Quay
Pharma
Based in purpose built facilities in the Northwest of England, Quay
Pharmaceuticals Limited provides a comprehensive outsourcing
service for the development and testing of pharmaceutical products.
Quay Pharma has particular expertise in solid dosage form design
and development. Services include Pre-formulation, Formulation
Development, and Analytical Method Development and Contract
Analysis.
