ABPI and BIA establish new manufacturing partnership
pharmafile | September 23, 2014 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Sales and Marketing | ABPI, Actavis, AstraZeneca, BIA, Eisai, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, GlaxoSmithKline, Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), Oxford BioMedica, Pfizer, Whitehead, bates, mmip
The ABPI and the Bioindustry Association (BIA) have jointly established a new Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership (MMIP) to boost medicines manufacturing in the UK.
In a statement they say that the partnership will bring the biopharma industry together to work towards creating an attractive and innovation-driven environment to ensure UK competitiveness in the sector.
Stephen Whitehead, chief executive of the ABPI says: “It will draw on the resources and commitment of industry, government and other relevant stakeholders to create an ambitious joint work programme on manufacturing technology, innovation, skills and regulation.”
BIA’s chief executive Steve Bates adds: “The UK’s research and development capabilities are world class and we are now seeking to put medicines manufacturing on a similar footing. The foundations are strong and we anticipate that this new industry partnership will build on these fundamentals.”
Organisations involved in the partnership include the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), Actavis, AstraZeneca, Eisai, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, Oxford BioMedica, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline.
GSK’s senior vice president for the North America, Japan and global pharma supply chain, Ian McCubbin, will lead the MMIP steering group.
“The UK has a strong foundation in manufacturing and it is vital that this partnership works to differentiate, defend and grow the existing industry base,” McCubbin says.
MMIP’s initial work will focus on industry needs across a number of priority areas including the technology, fiscal, regulatory and skills environments, as well as overseas promotion of the UK’s strengths in medicines manufacturing.
As an immediate first step it is jointly resourcing a team with the KTN, the UK’s innovation network, to help the sector more effectively navigate and draw upon public investments and pre-existing funding mechanisms to drive the UK’s competitiveness in the sector.
The medicines industry is one of the UK’s leading manufacturing sectors, with exports worth over £22 billion and a 2012 trade surplus of £4.9 billion.
The ABPI and BIA say that the establishment of the MMIP comes as medicines manufacturing is shifting away from the dominance of small molecules towards an even balance between small molecules, biologics and cell and gene therapy.
George Underwood
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