SGS North America—a company consisting of a network of contract service laboratories that offers pharma development, biologics testing and characterization, quality control testing, and biosafety—is implementing new capacity and capabilities in order to further boost its biologics testing services for the American biopharma market.1 The new project will be centered around SGS’ Lincolnshire Center of Excellence, named for the city in Illinois in which it’s located.
The 60,000 square-foot site provides chemistry, microbiology, and biologics testing and analysis services to assist clients with small and large molecule testing projects. The facility is able to offer these services for every stage of the product development process, beginning with cell bank safety assessment and product characterization, to method development and raw material testing, through to the final stage of when a product is ultimately released into the market.
What does this latest SGS expansion signify exactly? The company is strengthening its instrumentation and specialized biologics services—it’s also bolstering its ability to novel biologics and biosimilar characterization. These updates reportedly simplify analytical testing when it comes to discovery and commercial stages within a single facility via a streamlined type of approach.
At a time when biopharma companies are looking for ways to not only accelerate a drug’s timetable for hitting the market but do so cost-effectively, businesses are increasingly looking for ways to outsource their testing and analysis requirements.
“Biologics constitute a high-growth segment of the pharmaceutical market, with sales and development of biologics-based products more than doubling over the last decade in North America,” said Derick Govender, head of SGS North America. “With the addition of scientific expertise and leading instrumentation at our Lincolnshire site, SGS is bolstering its biologics testing capabilities to better meet the growing demand for large molecule drug products that are supporting rapid advancements in novel drug discovery.”
In other SGS news, the company made the list of TIME’s “World’s Most Sustainable Companies of 2024,” featuring data gathering by Statista. Worldwide, SGS was ranked sixth out of 500 corporates globally, with the top spot in the Testing, Inspection and Certification category.2
TIME and Statista assessed over 5,000 companies on factors including corporate reporting practices, external sustainability ratings and commitments, and environmental and social stewardship.
SGS has set a decarbonization goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. It has also used renewable energy to make up 97% of total energy use, employed energy efficiency projects, followed the UN Global Compact, and has been included in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook, among other accomplishments. Meanwhile, on the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) front, 31.9% of its leadership positions are held by women.
“We are extremely honored to be recognized by TIME and Statista for our commitment to sustainability,” noted Géraldine Picaud, CEO of SGS. “This achievement rewards our strategy to integrate sustainable practices into every operation and action plan. Our Strategy 2027 includes ambitious corporate sustainability targets, and we aim to continue to lead by example by implementing the best practices for maximum sustainable impact.”
References
1. SGS North America Announces Expansion of Biologics Testing Capabilities. PR Newswire. July 2, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sgs-north-america-announces-expansion-of-biologics-testing-capabilities-302188449.html#:~:text=%22With%20the%20addition%20of%20scientific,advancements%20in%20novel%20drug%20discovery.%22
2. SGS Ranked Among World’s Top 10 Most Sustainable Companies by TIME. SGS. July 2, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2024. https://www.sgs.com/en/news/2024/07/sgs-ranked-among-worlds-top-10-most-sustainable-companies-by-time