Pharmaceutical NEWS - Fall 2008

Microchem/Lancaster Laboratories Europe expands chemistry and biopharmaceutical capabilities

Lancaster Laboratories’ strategy to expand its laboratory services in Europe resulted in the acquisition of Microchem in August 2007. The acquisition expands Lancaster’s capability to provide analytical services to its global clients. Microchem was an already established company with a reputation for quality and service, providing microbiological, chemical and environmental analyses to the pharmaceutical, medical device, food and chemical industries in Europe and Asia.

Since the acquisition, Microchem/Lancaster Laboratories Europe has expanded its capacity to deliver a range of services to the international pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. The original workforce of 100 people has already been expanded by 20 percent, and current plans call for significant growth during the next several years.

Microchem/Lancaster Laboratories Europe has recruited people with excellent technical and commercial experience to lead larger projects and meet or exceed customers’ expectations. Dave Tudbury, senior manager of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, has 20 years experience in technical and commercial roles together with extensive drug development knowledge. Stephen McGrath, Ph.D., with more than 10 years experience in molecular biology research, leads the Biopharmaceutical Services Team.

Expansion is mostly focused on working more closely with existing customers, supporting the clinical aspects of drug development and developing biologics capability. Client interest in biologically produced pharmaceuticals has driven involvement in this area, and the Microchem/Lancaster Laboratories Europe team looks forward to supporting many of their developmental and commercial needs.

A physical expansion of the facility is planned for 2010, but meanwhile, the existing facility is being reorganized to house the additional equipment and personnel required for the increased services. Additional HPLC, dissolution, and stability equipment have been installed to supplement commercial and traditional drug development. The Biopharmaceutical Department is focusing its additional capability on lot release testing, stability and product characterization. Work is currently underway to construct the HEPA-filtered areas to support this work. New instrumentation for the BioPharma Department enabling protein analysis, DNA analysis and cellular biology are currently being acquired.

“It’s an exciting time in Lancaster Labs/Europe, and the teams are all responding with enthusiasm and commitment to the challenges and opportunities ahead. Our aim is to be the lab of choice in Europe and beyond, and we look forward to working with our colleagues in Lancaster to achieve this,” says Ciaran Geoghegan, Ph.D., Director of Microchem/Lancaster Laboratories Europe.

For more information about the capabilities available at Microchem/Lancaster Laboratories Europe, contact Dr. Geoghegan at Tel: +353 (0) 58 48300.