The project will significantly increase the available laboratory space and reconfigure the layout so that Sterling can develop and expand in the future to provide additional services. Sterling has already installed a new mass spectrometer at the site’s process development laboratory to support its analytical services for developing both ADCs and small molecules.

“Having the capabilities to develop ADC bioconjugation methods and scale up through to GMP manufacture in the same location has been one of Sterling’s major priorities since the acquisition of the Deeside facility, enabling projects to progress through development phases without needing relocation or tech transfer,” said Deeside site head Stewart Mitchell.

“We are currently integrating the site’s quality management systems in line with our global practices and are now commissioning the QC [quality control] and manufacturing facilities in readiness for GMP certification, which we anticipate will be in place by late 2022,” Mitchell added.

Sterling is already undertaking other expansion projects in the UK and US. In Dudley, UK, it is spending £10 million on process development and commercial-scale manufacturing capacity, while £1.5 million is being invested in its early phase development site at Cary, North Carolina in the US.

Last month, Sterling also agreed to buy Novartis’ API manufacturing campus in Ringaskiddy, near Cork in Ireland. The site includes three API manufacturing buildings, as well as facilities to support development and scale-up – it currently manufactures a number of APIs across a range of therapeutic areas.

“The site at Ringaskiddy has a number of synergies with our current global facilities enabling us to continue our growth strategy in the small molecule market, as well as extending our capabilities in several key technological areas such as peptide manufacturing and large-scale chromatography,” said Sterling’s CEO Kevin Cook. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2022.

The addition of the Ringaskiddy campus will expand Sterling’s global network to five facilities across the UK, Europe and the US, with a workforce of more than 1,000 employees.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist