CPhI NEWS: AndersonBrecon undertakes second major expansion in 2012
Purpose-built facility dedicated to potent compounds doubles speciality pharma capabilities
AndersonBrecon, a leading provider of contract packaging services to the global healthcare market, has opened a new purpose-built facility dedicated to packaging potent compounds. The 4,000ft2 site in Talgarth, Wales is the company’s second major expansion in 2012 and doubles its speciality pharma capabilities. AndersonBrecon is the only contract packaging company in the UK to offer specialist potent compound packaging in a standalone facility.
Comprised of both primary and secondary cubicles and with separate changing areas, the new facility is fully equipped to minimise the risk of operator exposure to potent compounds in adjoining areas. All areas in the site have been designed to use HEPA filtered air and are compliant with ISO8 standards and validated to HACCP (Hazard analysis and critical control points) standards. Staff will be fully trained on the hazards of specific compounds, control banding concepts, proper use of engineering control, gowning/de-gowning and correct procedures for waste disposal.
‘The new centre enables AndersonBrecon’s customers to have potent compounds packaged and distributed across both sides of the Atlantic,” said Peter Belden, managing director of AndersonBrecon Europe. ‘As a result, we can ensure standardised processes and maximum efficiency on a worldwide level for our clients.
‘The new site will allow us to further invest in our people by providing new training and development opportunities.’
The additional storage capacity and eight dispatch lanes at the new facility means that the company can facilitate the rapid growth it is anticipating both in terms of volume and increasingly complex specifications.
Turnround times in clinical trials are further enhanced by the introduction of a rapid response service.
The premium packaging service offering has been developed by AndersonBrecon to deliver compliant clinical trials supplies in the shortest time possible, without compromising on quality, and covers all aspects of trial supply encompassing design, materials, production and release. The Rapid Response service will be an in-house offering and will allow customers to react immediately to rapidly changing needs mid-trial or respond to country-specific protocols.
AndersonBrecon’s Rapid Response service uses a team of highly trained key personnel to conduct multiple tasks that work through existing systems efficiently. Designed in advance and fully compliant to cGMP standards, the systems have individual operating procedures and workflows created to streamline processes significantly.
‘Every touch point in the current pharmaceutical market is infiltrated with red tape and it is common for the clinical trials packaging process to touch more than 20 people,’ comments Belden. ‘The introduction of our Rapid Response service will significantly streamline this and offer our customers unmatched expertise throughout the entire process.’
In addition AndersonBrecon offers a standalone labelling service that can dramatically reduce design and printing turnaround times and provides bespoke, around-the-clock support to ensure that even projects where labelling requirements change unexpectedly are kept on track.
As part of its labelling service capabilities, AndersonBrecon is able to translate labels into any language for customers and can provide regulatory support to ensure the supplied text is fit for purpose in the destination countries. Its expanded UK facility provides increased capacity and state-of-the-art equipment, enabling the company to handle bespoke labelling batches at short notice and activate fast and effective quality control processes to enable materials to be quickly dispatched.
‘The standalone labelling service enables us to deliver labelling projects for our clients in as little as two days,’ added Belden. ‘We recognise that our customers are constantly dealing with changing requirements and timelines and have developed our latest service to ensure we can meet their demands in the most efficient and cost-effective way.’
