SGS Life Science Services facility in Fairfield, NJ has been upgraded to Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) compliant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. This comes after significant investment in facilities and staff training to handle virulent organisms for microbiological testing, chemical and raw material testing, and stability testing of pharmaceutical materials.

With the enhanced containment capabilities, the facility is now able to support the development programs of biotech and pharmaceutical companies involved in vaccines against pathogens such as Poliovirus, Rotavirus, Influenza A, and Hepatitis A, B and C, also drugs against bacteria which are increasingly becoming antibiotic resistant, such as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), NDM-1 Escherichia coli and Clostridium difficile.

The company can now work with a range of products at the Fairfield lab including both animal and human-derived samples such as blood (including serum, antibodies, and phagocytes) and tissue.

“By including the BSL-2 guidelines into our biosafety plan at Fairfield, we now can offer both chemistry and microbiology related services to clients,” said Mark Rogers, vice president Life Sciences, SGS North America. “The ability to handle pathogens across both disciplines under one facility is more convenient for our customers and allows us to offer a greater range of testing capabilities to both existing and new clients.”