Irish Pharmaceutical Plant Named One Of The Best Of 2009

Six pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, located in Belgium, India, Ireland, Germany, and Switzerland have been named 2009 winners in six distinctive categories of the fifth annual 'Facility of the Year Awards' program sponsored by the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE), INTERPHEX and Pharmaceutical Processing magazine

According to Robert P. Best, ISPE President and CEO, "The Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) program recognizes state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing projects that utilize new and innovative technologies to enhance the delivery of a quality project, as well as reduce the cost of producing high-quality medicines.

"The awards program spotlights the accomplishments, shared commitment, and dedication of individuals in companies worldwide to innovate and advance pharmaceutical manufacturing technology for the benefit of all global consumers.

"We were truly impressed with the quality of this year's submissions, as well as the depth and breadth of each organization's innovative solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturing challenges. Each year, the best and brightest minds in the industry raise the bar for quality, creativity, and ingenuity in the design of their facilities, which ultimately benefits people worldwide.

The Facility of the Year Award Winner for Sustainability was Centocor Biologics Ireland.

In 2001, Centocor started looking at options to provide additional manufacturing capacity for two promising new drugs in their pipeline.

However, its existing manufacturing sites were built-out, so it was necessary to consider a greenfield site.

In June 2004, after three years of study, Centocor approved funding to establish a new cell culture and purification site in Ringaskiddy, County Cork, Ireland.

The overall mission of this project dubbed 'BioCork' saw the team working closely with local residents to mitigate the impact of this large, complex project on the community. The project provided traffic mitigation alternatives, utilized advanced membrane waste water treatment, captured rainwater for recycling, and installed a biomass (woodchip) boiler for base steam load.

This project also involved extensive landscaping that included planting 70,000 trees to mitigate visual impact and air quality.

BioCork is 40% more energy-efficient than internal benchmark biotech facilities and there was a 90% reduction in the carbon footprint versus fossil fuel.

In addition, through careful preparation, communication, and implementation of safety planning, BioCork is one of the safest large projects ever built in Ireland.

This complex project was completed ahead of schedule, under budget, and exceeded capability requirements in all areas, most especially in the sustainability category.