PPD Expands GMP Biologics Testing Capacity

On March 28, 2018, Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), a provider of chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) laboratory services for various phases of drug development, announced that it has expanded its GMP-compliant, analytical laboratory in Middleton, WI.

The new 32,000-square-foot lab, PPD Laboratories, complements the company’s existing biologics capacity and was constructed specifically for the stability and quality control testing of large-molecule drug products.

According to PPD, the facility is currently operational and will employ more than 100 new employees and contains specialized areas dedicated to particular types of assays and scientific instrumentation unique to biologics.

The Middleton lab offers fully integrated solutions for pharmaceutical product development, including analytical testing services, method development and validation, stability testing, quality control, and release testing. In addition to biologic testing, the laboratory offers the analysis of small-molecule and inhalation products, as well as extractables and leachables testing.

The Middleton campus expansion also includes the renovation of the company’s existing cell lab. The expanded 5900-square-foot laboratory will support a total of 70 cellular and molecular biology scientists upon its completion in mid 2018, according to the company.

“The expansion of our biologics testing, which nearly doubles our analytical testing capacity, enables us to meet the ever-growing needs of our clients for GMP testing of large molecule products,” said Jon Denissen, PhD, senior vice president of the PPD Laboratories bioanalytical and GMP labs, in a company press release. “From early clinical development through commercial release testing, clients rely on our industry-leading capabilities in large molecule product testing. With deep expertise that spans the full spectrum of protein-based and gene-based biologics, we support many of the most cutting-edge immuno-oncology, gene therapy, and cell therapy agents being developed or marketed today. PPD Laboratories is the laboratory of choice for companies seeking high-quality data for biologics regulatory submission and product release.”

In addition to the Middleton lab, the company has a lab in Athlone, Ireland, to meet the CMC testing needs of the European market.

Source: PPD