Expansion for Ultrafine
expand its capabilities in the custom manufacturing of active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates.
Manchester, UK-based Ultrafine has started construction of an additional facility to expand its capabilities in the custom manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates.
The new unit will include 200L Hastelloy and glass-lined steel reactors - plus a filter dryer for full product containment - and will complement the company's three existing suite of three laboratories which operate at the 20-50L scale. All Ultrafine's facilities are current Good Manufacturing Practice compliant, according to the firm, which notes that the new facility can produce up to 20kg batches.
"Our current cGMP facilities have been running at capacity for some time now, and this expansion will enable us to make greater volumes of material than were previously possible", commented Mike Harris, Ultrafine's head of business development.
Ultrafine specialises in producing small quantities of drugs for use in drug discovery and development activities, and also provides chemistry support from the preclinical stage - e.g. in order to help identify suitable candidates to take forward into development - through to clinical supply stages.
In two other recent developments at the company, Ultrafine has expanded its collaboration with fellow UK firm Arakis for the manufacture of clinical material for an unnamed drug candidate, and completed the first phase of chemical processed development and scale-up for CBT1008, a small-molecule drug being developed by Cambridge Biotechnology for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
This phase will supply enough CBT1008 to complete preclinical assessment of the drug, and a second phase will be geared up towards the manufacture of clinical batches. The latter project will start next year, noted Harris.
Meanwhile, Ultrafine has bolstered its management team with the appointment of Dr Rick Dyer, formerly head of chemical synthesis at Roche Discovery, to the position of head of chemical operations.
The UK firm has also expanded its operations in the US, a key target market, by hiring Joseph Siple as its North American business development director.
