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On Wednesday 16^th June 2021, NEPIC and FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies joined forces to host a virtual roundtable to discuss the continuous manufacturing landscape within the North East of England.

The region is recognised as a manufacturing hub for specialist materials. Today, manufacturers are being challenged to accelerate product delivery to patients through drug substance and product manufacturing. Companies must scale quickly and flexibly whilst maintaining cost controls – and continuous processing is seen as offering an approach through which this challenge can be met.

To ensure the North East is positioned to respond to this challenge and the opportunities they present, we sought the support of the industry experts as we work to map the North East’s manufacturing capabilities across this vital area.

Guests also heard from key industry manufacturing specialists and had the opportunity to share views, methods, and network with fellow manufacturers. Findings from the event will be used to support collective learning, educational purposes, and potential future collaborative projects.

NEPIC’s Pharmaceutical Innovation Manager, Ryan Siddall said:

 “It was very encouraging to see so many NEPIC members join the cross-sector continuous manufacturing workshop to learn more about the cutting-edge technology that is deployed within the region.

“The event provided industrialists, SMEs, and academics with a forum to discuss their experiences of continuous manufacturing and automation. The intelligence gathered will enable NEPIC to facilitate collaboration between members, to ensure the North-East remains at the forefront of innovation.”

Jonathan Haigh, Vice President, Process Development at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies said:

“The Continuous Manufacturing event, co-hosted by NEPIC and FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, proved a valuable opportunity for expertise within the North East of England to meet, share knowledge and achievements in this exciting approach to manufacturing. It was evident from the workshop there is a strong community of individuals and organisations, spanning academia and industry, with skills, capabilities and expertise in this space.

“I look forward to future events where we look to build this cross-industry network further, towards translating continuous manufacturing from concept to bioproduction facility.”

Dr Jen Vanderhoven, Director of Teesside University’s National Horizons Centre said:

“It was a pleasure to attend the continuous manufacturing event, organised by NEPIC. Hearing about all the state-of-the-art technologies being developed in this area was really great – as was seeing just how collaborative people are across the North East in wanting to share best practice and help each other succeed. We look forward to working with NEPIC and the other companies in this area in the future, to get the North- East really cemented in the UK ecosystem as the go-to place for biomanufacturing.”

All findings from the event will be used to support collective learning, educational purposes, and potential future collaborative projects.

If you would like to learn more about how your company can get involved in future roundtables like this one, please contact ryan.siddall@nepic.co.uk

Find out more about FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, here.