Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services, an international contract manufacturing organization (CMO) with headquarters in the UK, who specialize in providing GMP aseptic fill and finish services for biologic and small molecule pharmaceuticals to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies worldwide, has announced a $1.3 million investment in its in-house analytical services capabilities.

This investment will see the introduction of in-house testing capabilities for both analytical chemistry and microbiology and further enable Symbiosis to meet its ambitious growth plans.

The new testing capability will include dedicated microbiology laboratories as well as temperature and humidity-controlled stability storage capabilities, to be located adjacent to Symbiosis’ existing GMP manufacturing suites in Stirling, Scotland.

Symbiosis also announced the recruitment of Alison Clayton, an experienced senior leader in the CRO and life sciences industry, who joined Symbiosis as head of analytical services to lead this initiative to significantly extend analytical testing capabilities at Symbiosis.

Head of Analytical Services, Alison Clayton commented: “Symbiosis will have a phased approach to building in-house chemistry and microbiology laboratory capabilities so that we can deliver the most appropriate and value-adding assays and testing that our clients demand of us.

“Symbiosis will offer an enhanced suite of testing capabilities, including sterility, bioburden and endotoxin testing as well as analytical chemistry,” said Clayton. “Ultimately, this will allow our clients to achieve their tight drug development project timelines.”

Building works for the laboratories was initiated in June 2022, with the first microbiology testing capabilities to be qualified and available to support an international client base from the first quarter of 2023. Further microbiology and chemistry capabilities will be qualified and introduced throughout 2023.

Colin MacKay, CEO, Symbiosis, said, “This investment is another clear statement of our continuing ambition to strengthen our service offering in response to the demands from existing clients and to position Symbiosis to attract further global biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients in the future.” 

On the appointment of Clayton, MacKay said, “Alison has the expertise and the gravitas to drive growth and has significant experience of building teams to provide testing services to the biopharmaceutical sector. We are therefore delighted that she is leading the establishment of this capability at Symbiosis.”

It is expected that Symbiosis will hire up to 20 additional life sciences staff by the end of 2023 to support this new testing capability.

The new laboratories will be located in the Logie Court building, one of the three buildings on the Stirling Innovation Park in the UK from which Symbiosis operates. The capital equipment and facilities expansion will enable Symbiosis to have increased control over sample testing timelines, and in turn bring value to clients by expediting the GMP release of batches for onward clinical or commercial use.