Porton Biopharma opens new leukaemia drug production facility

Porton Biopharma Limited (PBL) has officially opened the doors of its new fermentation facility. John Glen, MP for Salisbury and South Wiltshire was present at the ceremony to officially open the site, the principle function of which will be to produce PBL’s leukaemia drug Erwinase.

The new multi-million pound site is designed around the centrepiece of a 3,000 litre fermenter which significantly increases the company’s existing capacity and ability to manufacture greater quantities of product. The facility covers around 2,100m2, including a fermentation hall, downstream processing rooms, and services of purified water, steam, air and effluent treatment, all up the latest regulatory standards.

"We are looking forward to the day when this facility comes online because that, along with the other investments that we have made, means that we will be able to meet the growing global demand for our product," commented PBL Managing Director Dr Roger Hinton. "This helps to grow the value of Porton Biopharma, but most importantly it means that we will be able to save the lives of more children who suffer from this form of leukaemia in the future."

Mike Raine, Director of Engineering at the firm, added: "Today represents an important milestone where we can see the physical results of all the hard work in the design, planning and build that have gone into this project. We are now looking forward to the next challenge of qualifying and validating the equipment to ensure that everything is working as specified, before going into full production sometime in the next year."

Speaking at the opening ceremony, John Glen MP said: "I was delighted to be welcomed back to open this new facility after having performed the ground-breaking ceremony in May 2016, the transformation of the site is astounding. Having this facility in Wiltshire is also a superb local example of the government’s industrial strategy, which specifically includes supporting the life-sciences sector and building prosperous communities – a good news event for Salisbury!"

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