When the facility opens in early 2009 Metrics will be able to offer its clients drug development with containment levels of 30ng per cubic metre of room air, which the company believes is better than anyone else can provide.
Prior to the new facility Metrics had the ability to provide containment of 1µg per cubic metre of room air. Metrics chose to improve this through construction of a dedicated cytotoxic plant when it saw the increased demand for these services.
Joe Cascone, Metrics’ director of potent pharmaceutical development, was at the press conference to explain the details of the new facility.
The plant has been designed to manufacture 10-20kg batches for Phase I to III trials and will employ seven or eight people when it commences production in 2009.
Staff working in the cytotoxic facility will not work in other Metrics’ plants, which is among a range of measures to ensure high standards and prevent contamination. Cascone said Metrics is hoping to use dedicated equipment and disposable supplies where possible.
This equipment will operate in a modular design within the hard-wall isolation facility, which Cascone said gives Metrics the flexibility to tailor its offering to a client’s needs.
In addition none of the facility’s air is recirculated and there is a one way flow throughout the site, both of which reduce the risk of contamination.
The cytotoxic facility forms part of Metrics’ $18m expansion, which has added manufacturing capacity, analytical laboratories and stability storage.