Intertek, the leading quality solutions provider to industries worldwide, opened a new 8,000 ft, 190,000 litre pharmaceutical stability storage facility in Royston, UK, in response to increased client demand and enabling the company to broaden the range of solutions it can offer to the global pharmaceutical industry.

Based in Cambridge, the heartland of the UK's pharma and biotech industry, the new pharmaceutical stability storage facility is part of a wider investment programme in Intertek’s global pharmaceutical capabilities. It also complements Intertek’s existing product development services for pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare, biologics, medical devices and nutraceuticals both in Melbourn and globally. This new facility will enable clients globally to establish recommended and bespoke storage conditions with a state-of-the-art environmental monitoring system.

With the opening of this new Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant facility, Intertek, as a leading provider of analytical and formulation support for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and drug delivery industries, has increased its stability storage capacity significantly, enabling the growing demands for bespoke storage conditions, risk management/contingency storage programmes and ‘storage-only’ projects to be met.

Mark Hammond, laboratory director, shared “This new facility, integrated with our scientists’ experience and knowledge of pharmaceutical testing, will bring a range of storage solutions with options for client bespoke conditions and risk management storage to meet the increased demands from our global clients.”

Chetan Parmar, senior vice president of Intertek Life Sciences, said “With over 20 years of experience in the design and management of pharmaceutical stability studies, Intertek’s new facility will benefit our clients through a truly flexible stability outsourcing partnership. "

Harriet Fear, CEO of One Nucleus, an international membership organisation for life science and healthcare companies based in Cambridge, said: “Research and development lie at the heart of the pharmaceutical industry, which invests more than any other industrial sector in the UK, with up to approximately £11.5 million spent every day. It is great to see that Intertek is supporting global clients in their research and development by investing in this impressive stability storage facility in the heart of Europe’s largest life science and healthcare cluster.”

Intertek UK & Eire Chief Executive Rob van Dorp said “Intertek has over 20 years of experience in analytical testing and formulation for the inhaled products behind treatments for asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and has built a reputation for providing outstanding and responsive customer service for challenging pharmaceutical developments programmes. The team are therefore well placed to expand the range of solutions they can provide for clients who are developing ever more complex products.”

GMP stability testing forms a key part of Intertek’s pharmaceutical development services. Intertek’s global International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) stability storage and testing locations also include Manchester (UK), Whitehouse, (New Jersey, USA) and Melbourne, (Australia). Intertek has a 20 year heritage providing cGMP contract analytical, bioanalytical, stability and formulation support, as well as regulatory affairs services.