Johnson Matthey, a leading provider of pharmaceutical services, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and catalyst technologies, has announced completion and commissioning of new high containment facilities for potent product manufacture at its Edinburgh, UK site (Macfarlan Smith).

Macfarlan Smith is an established provider of opiates, controlled substance and highly potent products; the new self-contained, state of the art facility is required to meet existing demand for potent products and also provides additional capacity for anticipated future requirements. It features isolators containing a range of hastelloy and glass vessels, with powder transfers being mediate through split butterfly values with active valve wash stations.  It also contains a dedicated finishing room, QC laboratory and control room.  Overall the facility design ensures a safe working environment and assures customers that the necessary manufacturing controls and procedures are in place to produce compounds with OEL less than 30 ng per m3.

“This new facility is a significant addition to our existing capabilities at our site in Edinburgh,” commented Steve Barr, Vice President Business Development Europe. “It enhances our overall capabilities in high containment manufacturing and provides extra capacity to extend our range of high potency products and services. These facilities support Johnson Matthey’s broader assets for the manufacture of highly potent products including our US capacity in West Deptford, NJ and Devens, MA.”

The commissioning of the facility has been completed in February 2015 and it is now due to commence commercial manufacturing.

Johnson Matthey’s Fine Chemicals Division provides pharmaceutical customers in Europe, US and Asia with a broad range of services and solutions, including active ingredients, custom development services, catalysts and chiral technologies.