Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services Ltd (Symbiosis), a rapidly growing sterile biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Organisation (CMO) announces the purchase of new premises in Stirling, Scotland, UK.
The additional space will significantly increase manufacturing capacity, strengthen the current Symbiosis commercial manufacturing service offering and expedite the fast delivery of client’s sterile injectable drug products to clinical trials and to commercial markets.
Close to its existing manufacturing cleanrooms, testing laboratories, and GMP warehouse facilities in Stirling, the purchase will double the company’s existing footprint to 43,500 sq ft (4,000m2).
The new facility will safeguard around 130 skilled jobs at Symbiosis and generate an additional 50 new life science sector jobs, contributing to Scotland’s impressive skilled workforce.
The new facility and service extension project, supported by a grant from Scottish Enterprise totalling £4.3m ($5.5m), will be implemented over a three-year period as part of a wider £26m ($34.2m) financial commitment by Symbiosis to drive the growth of the company.
The growth strategy includes the addition of automated sterile manufacturing production line capabilities to extend the commercial fill/finish services that Symbiosis offers its clients by increasing the maximum batch size to 15,000 vials.
The new manufacturing facility design includes two new cleanroom based GMP automated production lines to substantially increase the companies’ total aseptic fill/finish manufacturing capacity. The visual inspection of vials post-production, and the labelling processes have also been fully automated.
Additionally, this investment in the latest automated technology will enhance operational flexibility to accommodate the GMP sterile manufacture of a range of drug modalities and also product-specific manufacturing processes defined by clients.
The increased batch output from the additional production lines will enhance Symbiosis’s clinical stage and commercial pharmaceutical supply capacity to service a new and existing global biotechnology and pharmaceutical company client base.
Having purchased the building and completed the cleanroom build and automation installation phase of the project, the company has entered the qualification phase in readiness for regulatory inspection in November. Symbiosis is therefore positioned to have its new automated GMP sterile manufacturing capability to be fully operational and manufacturing client product by the start of 2025.
Kate Forbes, the Deputy First Minister of the Scotland Government visited Symbiosis recently and commented: “This support for Symbiosis is just one example of how Scottish Enterprise is targeting key areas – in this case the life sciences sector – to bring significant capital investment and improve manufacturing, [and thereby] boosting exports”.
Symbiosis CEO Colin MacKay commented: “By investing in this new 20,000 sq ft facility and the cutting-edge pharmaceutical manufacturing automation, Symbiosis has positioned itself to provide additional significant world-class aseptic manufacturing capacity for our existing and future clients globally and represents the next major strategic chapter in the successful and consistently fast-growing trajectory of Symbiosis.
“This step-change in operational capacity and the addition of automation, while retaining the organisational and cultural strengths of a fantastic team here at Symbiosis, positions the company for sustained growth and the continued generation of value for clients and shareholders alike.”
Alison Clayton, Strategic Projects Director at Symbiosis said:
“This expansion illustrates our continued investment in solving new and emerging drug therapy manufacturing challenges, working alongside drug developers to commercialise, scale and accelerate the path to delivering safe and effective medicines to patients.
“It also represents the latest strategic initiative for Symbiosis following the recent addition of in-house Quality Control (QC) microbiological and analytical testing services in 2023. Together with the expanded manufacturing capacity, these investments will directly support the strategic ambition of Symbiosis to further develop its targeted market presence in North America and the E.U.”
