On June 2, The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) formally appreciated its 2015 Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) category winners at a banquet in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Established in 2004, the FOYA program recognizes state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing projects that utilize new and innovative technologies to enhance the delivery of a superior project, as well as reduce the cost of producing high-quality medicines.

This awards program values innovation and creativity in manufacturing facilities serving the regulated healthcare industry. Projects selected for the awards set the standard for pharmaceutical facilities of the future by demonstrating excellence in various fields.

For the field of project execution the 2015 FOYA winner is AstraZeneca China, the award for equipment innovation goes to Astellas Pharma, and the facility integration award has been assigned to IDT Biologika. In addition, FOYA’s international judging panel has awarded an honorable mention to Pharmalucence Pharmaceuticals.

ISPE President and CEO John E. Bournas, who made the announcement said: “Each of our 2015 category award winners has captured the spark of innovation and transformed it into processes, projects and products that ensure quality medicines reach the people who need it. The facilities honored … exemplify … ISPE’s dedication to enhancing patient health through advancements in pharmaceutical manufacturing.”

2015 FOYA Category Award Winners

AstraZeneca China has won the project execution category for its market supply solid dose facility located in Taizhou, China. AstraZeneca’s in-country team used a broad range of the company’s global engineering, operations and safety practices to complete this 533,000 sq. ft. facility in a record time of 20 months. The facility came in 18% under the sanctioned budget while maintaining an exemplary safety record.

Astellas Pharma is the winner in the equipment innovation category for its tube packaging and labeling equipment project. Astellas Ireland (Kerry) delivered a technology innovation allowing it to fill product into tubes that are printed with only common information for various markets, and introduced a process to add country-specific label information on the tubes. This innovation dramatically improved plant flexibility, simplified the supply chain, and significantly reduced acceptance testing, product raw materials stock levels and overall delivery lead-time.

IDT Biologika has won the facility integration category for its biologics and vaccines production facility in Dessau, Germany. The highly automated manufacturing facility for filling and freeze‐drying is designed to be modular, efficient and expandable. The site’s layout was devised to guarantee the shortest supply and disposal routes. Design of the integrated equipment suite represents significant contributions, resulting in efficient product change over and increased efficiency.

Pharmalucence Pharmaceuticals has received an honorable mention for the execution and entrepreneurial spirit demonstrated by the construction of its new aseptic filling facility in Billerica, Massachusetts. Through good planning and prioritization, Pharmalucence met the challenge of balancing investment, appropriate compliance, efficient operations and business viability.

The 2015 FOYA overall winner will be announced during the plenary session at the 2015 ISPE Annual Meeting on November 8–11 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. (mr)