Molecular Profiles invests in new facility to increase manufacturing capabilities for clinical trials

Molecular Profiles, a leading specialist contract research and manufacturing organization, announces the commencement of construction of a new manufacturing facility. This £9 million (US$13.8 million) investment will allow Molecular Profiles to expand its current manufacturing capabilities while strengthening its existing expertise in the drug development field.

The new GMP facility, planned to open in late 2012, will provide an additional 30,000 square feet of space.  The investment marks a significant expansion of scale for the company with six new GMP suites, new laboratories and a clinical packing suite.  The new facility is designed to the latest specification, enabling flexibility of use and the manufacture of highly potent compounds up to OEB 4 level. Designed to handle a range of dosage forms including solids, liquids, semi-solids and inhaled products, the expanded capability allows Molecular Profiles to comprehensively cover phase I and II clinical trial requirements with manufacturing batch scale of up to 30 kg.

The new build at Molecular Profiles’ site in Nottingham will complement the existing GMP facility and research laboratories, providing increased productivity across the company’s complete portfolio of drug development services.  The investment will enable expansion across all services including formulation development, polymorph and salt selection, analytical services, materials characterization and clinical trial manufacturing. This significant investment further demonstrates Molecular Profiles’ commitment to providing its pharmaceutical customers a complete formulation and manufacturing capability in a single location.

The UK government has provided their support through the allocation of a regional growth fund grant of £1.6m.  Nikin Patel, CEO of Molecular Profiles comments, “The construction of significantly larger manufacturing and laboratory facilities is a strategic decision based on customer demand. Our strategy for expansion is well underway and securing the regional growth funding is a clear endorsement of our strategic growth plans. Following our double win of the Queen’s Award in 2007 and 2011 in the category of innovation, we have once again affirmed our ambition and continuous development.”