MedPharm expands drug discovery lab facilities
The company, which specializes in providing topical and transdermal drug delivery contract services, recently opened its expanded facility in Durham, NC. The $4m investment in growing its building, according to the company, has created 100 new jobs for scientifically skilled staff.
The expansion includes space for a number of broadened and newly added capabilities, including new pre-formulation/formulation development services, histology and microbiology suites.
Jeremy Drummond, senior vice president of business, told Outsourcing-Pharma the expansion effectively triples the footprint of the complex, bringing it to more than 25,000 square feet. He explained that the added space and capabilities will benefit the company’s clients around the world.
“It enables MedPharm to expand its service offering and stay at the forefront of technological advances, so we continue to offer our clients the best solutions for de-risking their development programs,” he said.
Other facility features include a dedicated innovation laboratory for custom development of performance testing models and systems. This enables MedPharm to tackle project-specific issues for customers in need, and to keep current with existing and emerging scientific breakthroughs and technology.
“MedPharm’s innovation laboratory has a wide-ranging remit to help customers resolve key questions to de-risk or simplify their product development,” Drummond told us. “This can be new in vitro models or improving automation to increase throughput and data quality.”
In February, MedPharm announced the availability of its in-vitro models geared toward development of topically delivered treatments. The technology, according to the company, enables customers to prove bioequivalence of treatments without having to turn to human trials.
According to Eugene Ciolfi, MedPharm president and CEO, the team's recent accomplishments, include developing a novel for assessing penetration through human nasal epithelia by culturing the tissue in the laboratory.
“This allows clients to assess the performance of their products before they commit to clinical trial decisions,” he explained.
Earlier this month, the company celebrated the opening of the expanded facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception. Approximately 60 guests attended the event, including Sen. Sam Searcy (D-NC), clients and MedPharm industry partners.
