Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp) has announced that its Covance Drug Development (Covance) business is expanding its Harrogate, England-based BioPharmCMC capabilities.
The company is expanding into leased space that was purpose-built for laboratory and scientific services at the National Agri-Food Innovation Campus (NAFIC) in York, England.
Pattie Kushner, a spokesperson for LabCorp, told us there is an increasing global demand for large-molecule medicines, including antibodies, vaccines, biosimilars, and cell-based and gene therapies – and the company anticipates continued growth.
“Our current Harrogate site has insufficient space to support anticipated demand so we are expanding our capabilities in a new nearby site,” she said.
The new facility will focus on biopharmaceutical chemistry, manufacturing and control, or BioPharmCMC, and is expected to open in late 2017.
Kushner explained the existing Harrogate site will continue providing services, including safety assessment, bioanalysis, metabolism, and food solutions.
While hiring plans for the new facility have not been disclosed, Kushner said, “We anticipate 20 to 30 people will be working from York by the end of 2017, all in the BioPharmCMC area, with continued growth into 2018 and beyond.”