Sterling Pharma Solutions, a global contract development and manufacturing organisation, today announced the completion of the initial phase of investment at its site in Dudley, UK to create the company’s centre of excellence for research into commercial applications of continuous flow chemistry. Announcement of the investment follows the appointment of Professor Ian R. Baxendale to lead a dedicated team of chemists and engineers to specialise in this area.
Multiple flow chemistry platforms have been installed into a research laboratory at the site to allow the investigation of a wide range of chemical processes, including photolysis, electrochemistry and hydrogenations, as well as equipment to undertake hazard evaluation studies. The team will focus on the rapid and successful development of processes to kilogramme scale initially, with a view to future industrialisation.
“Flow chemistry has the potential to open up applications within commercial pharmaceutical manufacturing that are currently used only within research and development or academic applications,” commented Mark Muldowney, Head of Technology & Innovation at Sterling. “We are seeing significant interest in continuous flow development and production from customers and our goal is to provide scale-up expertise to leverage the benefits this technology has to offer in terms of efficiency, safety, and economics.”
Sterling announced the appointment of Professor Baxendale in July 2021 on a three-year secondment, which has been funded by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation. Professor Baxendale is currently Chair of Synthetic Chemistry within the Department of Chemistry at Durham University.
About Sterling Pharma Solutions
Sterling Pharma Solutions is a global contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) with more than 50 years’ experience in providing small molecule API development and manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical industry, specialising in handling challenging chemistries. Sterling manages the most complex API challenges from proof-of-concept to commercial manufacture, as well as antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) research and development bioconjugation services. Sterling has four facilities employing more than 800 people: its HQ in Dudley, Northumberland, UK; a dedicated bioconjugation and ADCs facility in Deeside, North Wales, UK; and two sites in the US, in Cary, North Carolina and Germantown, Wisconsin. Find out more
