Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), a US contract research organisation, has added a new, state-of-the-art laboratory for cell-based assays to a portfolio of services at its GMP operation in Athlone, Ireland. The laboratory provides bioassay testing with dedicated areas to support cell culture activities.
The company says this expanded capacity will enable it to meet growing demand for these services from clients in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as the Asia-Pacific region.
PPD has now duplicated the services already available in the US through its Middleton, Wisconsin, GMP lab.
In addition to the new cell laboratory, the facility continues to provide solutions for product development as well as analytical testing services in method development, validation, stability, and release and quality control testing.
The Athlone facility also provides regulatory services, product licensing and marketed product support, including qualified person (QP) services for all drug dosage forms, with particular emphasis on inhalation and biopharmaceutical products.
'The expansion of our GMP laboratory represents PPD’s ongoing investment toward continued growth of our operations in Ireland in order to offer enhanced service capabilities to our growing client base in this region and throughout the world,' said David Johnston, PPD's Executive Vice President of Global Laboratory Services.
The GMP laboratory conducts testing for clinical and marketed programmes spanning all phases of drug development, and supports PPD’s 30 years of global laboratory expertise.
PPD opened its Athlone laboratory in 2010 and, once the expansion is complete, will employ nearly 150 people at the facility.
'This is great news for Athlone and the Midlands,' said Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD. 'Since bringing its state-of-the-art operations to Ireland five years ago, PPD has made a major contribution to the Athlone area.'
This development is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.
