Left to right: Paul Kelsall (director of clinical manufacturing), Nikki Whitfield (CEO), Ian Lafferty (chief technical officer), and Jon Austwick (director of quality & compliance)
Upperton Pharma Solutions, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has completed the construction of its new 7,000 square-foot sterile manufacturing facility in Nottingham, UK,1 joining the pre-existing 50,000 square-foot facility known as Trent Gateway.
The $8.7-million Nottingham plant it has been created with EU Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Annex-1 regulations in mind. The facility is expected to complement aseptic and terminally sterilized small-volume liquid and powder manufacturing efforts for parenteral, nasal, and pulmonary delivery.
It can also support formulation development, clinical manufacturing, and analytical testing services, with the capability to handle batch sizes of up to 2,000 vials, along with pre-filled syringes and pre-filled cartridges that are used for liquid formulations and pre-sterilized powders.
“We are delighted to complete the build of our sterile facility,” said Nikki Whitfield, Upperton’s CEO. “The combined experience of our leadership team in sterile facility builds and subsequent operations ensures that we are ideally placed as a CDMO partner of choice for small to mid-sized biotech and pharma looking to get into the clinic quickly with fast access to sterile manufacturing services.”
The CDMO’s sterile facility will house two cleanrooms containing advanced VHP isolation technology; the current full-service formulation development and quality control labs will also in delivering the GMP production of sterile drug products.
“This expansion illustrates our continued investment in our capabilities to support drug developers to scale and accelerate the path to delivering safe and effective medicines to patients,” noted Jon Austwick, the organization’s director of quality & compliance. “The facility has been built with the highest level of quality and is a testament to our internal teams and build vendor who have worked tirelessly over the past 12 months to bring our vision to life.”
In other Upperton news, the organization appointed Lorna Patrick as its new COO.2 She will be work with the leadership team to propel its operational strategy forward, leading the R&D, clinical manufacturing, analytical and project management teams.
Patrick has over two decades of experience in drug development, optimizing operational processes and change management across various departments, including analytics, clinical ops, manufacturing, project management,, and regulatory affairs. She has has previously held senior leadership roles with Quotient Sciences. Along with Thermo Fisher Scientific and AstraZeneca, respectively.
“I am delighted to be joining Upperton at such a pivotal time in their growth strategy. The company has a unique customer-focused culture, and I am looking forward to collaborating with the team to deliver outstanding outcomes for our clients and their patients,” Patrick said.
References
1. Upperton Completes Build of New £7m Sterile Manufacturing Facility. Upperton Pharma Solutions. January 28, 2025. Accessed January 29, 2025. https://upperton.com/upperton-completes-build-of-new-7m-sterile-manufacturing-facility/
2. Upperton continues growth with appointment of Lorna Patrick as Chief Operating Officer. Upperton Pharma Solutions. December 12, 2024. Accessed January 29, 2025. https://upperton.com/upperton-appoints-lorna-patrick-as-chief-operating-officer/