WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. will discontinue its U.S. biologics manufacturing operations at its Philadelphia facility as of December 31, 2008, resulting in the elimination of approximately 100 positions. The company plans to expand biologics testing, cell banking and cell therapy services at the facility.
   
WuXi anticipates biologics manufacturing revenues will be less than 4% of total expected annual revenue in 2008. In 2009, the company expects cost savings of approximately $10 million as a result of the discontinued operations.
   
Dr. Ge Li, chairman and chief executive officer of WuXi PharmaTech, said, "WuXi has been fortunate, even in current market conditions, to continue to experience rapid growth in our global business. This growth reflects our reputation for providing high-quality laboratory services to our clients in a cost-efficient manner. With our continued focus on growth and profitability, we are moving to mitigate operating risks in our biologics manufacturing operations, all of which are based in Philadelphia, and are shifting our Philadelphia-based resources to biologics testing and laboratory services, which continue to show strong customer demand. Our biologics testing, cell banking and cell therapy operations in Philadelphia and our St. Paul and Atlanta operations will be unaffected by these actions."

Sparta Systems, Inc. has added two software industry veterans to drive global expansion efforts. Tom Dalle-Molle, vice president of North American sales, and Nathan Birtle, vice president of EMEA and APAC sales, will use their enterprise solutions expertise to lead worldwide sales and support for the company’s TrackWise enterprise quality management software.

Prior to joining the company, Mr. Dalle-Molle was vice president of sales for SAP’s Consumer Products Group. Before SAP, Mr. Dalle-Molle was instrumental in building PeopleSoft from a $500 million to a $6 billion company, working in roles such as managing director for the Northeast and general manager of the global accounts business. Mr. Dalle-Molle has more than 30 years of experience in the software industry, having held key positions in sales and marketing at companies such as Primavera and Control Point Solutions.

Mr. Birtle previously served as the European sales director for Zoomix, an enterprise master data management provider. Prior to Zoomix, Mr. Birtle held various executive, sales and marketing positions at Arbortext, IBMUK, and Tivoli Systems.

“As the market leader in enterprise-class quality management, the industry looks to Sparta to produce innovative solutions that drive efficiency and compliance efforts across the global supply chain,” said James E. McGowan, president and chief executive officer, Sparta Systems. “With this in mind, we’ve strategically appointed Tom and Nathan, two stellar software executives, to lead our worldwide sales efforts. The experience these veterans bring to Sparta will position the company for future growth as we continue to address the global quality management and compliance needs of companies around the world.”

NextPharma received a successful FDA Inspection at its Waltrop site in Germany. The inspection covered the company's product development services activities, including technology transfer, analytical method validation and stability testing, and contract manufacturing services, including facility qualification and process validation.
   
The two-part investigation included pre-approval assessment of data/records against the regulatory submission and compliance of the Quality Management System with the FDA six GMP systems. The inspection also confirmed that the approach to facility qualification and risk management was satisfactory.
   
Bill Wedlake, chief executive officer, NextPharma Technologies, commented, "We are delighted to have received such a positive result at Waltrop and I’d like to commend the site team and the quality specialists who have contributed to this excellent achievement."

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