Dabur Oncology picks peroxide for UK facility
Astec Microflow is supplying a range of equipment to Dabur Oncology for its new UK manufacturing plant
Astec Microflow is supplying a range of equipment to Dabur Oncology for its new UK manufacturing plant
Indian pharmaceutical company Dabur Oncology has turned to Astec Microflow, part of Bioquell Medical, for a number of items of lab equipment at its new UK production facility for anticancer drugs. The purchases include two sterility test isolators and three Clarus C hydrogen peroxide generators, together with laminar flow work stations, a Class II biological safety cabinet, and Sensair recirculating fume cupboards.
The Dabur Group already manufactures a wide range of oncology products in its factories around the world, including paclitaxel, docetaxel, irinotecan and camptothecin, plus numerous other established cytotoxics.
The company's new UK manufacturing facility will operate as Dabur Oncology plc and is due to commence production early this year. It occupies around 2,500m² in three linked buildings on a modern business and manufacturing campus at Bordon, Hants, and is capable of handling batches of up to 10,000 vials at a time. Around 40 staff will be employed across production, laboratory operations and in administrative and sales roles.
Stephen Makepeace, head of microbiology for Dabur Oncology, says, 'Our quality control, chemistry and microbiology laboratories have been designed to support the manufacture of sterile cytotoxic production in a variety of formats and final containers, in a state-of-the-art aseptic environment. In selecting laboratory equipment, Bioquell Pharma's isolator and hydrogen peroxide technology was key.'
The Clarus C H2O2 generator provides rapid surface biodecontamination for isolators, enclosures and rooms, irrespective of enclosure size or geometry. Gassing times are controlled by means of a patented electronic condensation meter. Rapid decontamination results from depositing an even layer of microcondensation from gaseous H2O2. Extensive research and testing confirms that this environmentally-benign free radical oxidation process deactivates microorganisms.
biological safety standards
Other Astec products selected by Dabur include the new Astec Microflow Bio Class II safety cabinet and the Sensair fume cupboard. The Microsafe Advanced Bio Safety Class II cabinet conforms to all relevant international standards for biological safety. Key features are the recirculating technology that returns approximately 70% of the air back into the working area having passed it through a HEPA filter along with the exhaust air and the associated HEPA technology.
Sensair also uses advanced recirculatory technology pioneered by Astec Microflow. This is cleaner and more efficient than ducting methods that pump fumes back to atmosphere. It features a unique filter identification mechanism, which has been designed to reduce significantly the possibility of human error in the selection of filters.
Makepeace concludes, 'Delivery of the various items from Bioquell Pharma and Astec Microflow took place from late summer 2000 onwards, and we are happy they all meet our demanding expectations and needs. In addition, we will be using the associated Servicecare organisation for ongoing planned maintenance.'
