Aesica partners with Durham and Leeds Universities for new manufacturing technology

Aesica Pharmaceuticals could soon benefit from improved API manufacturing processes thanks to a partnership with experts at the Universities of Durham and Leeds.

Aesica Pharmaceuticals has announced a partnership with the Universities of Durham and Leeds to bring new API manufacturing technologies to market.

The announcement follows the recent annual Genesis conference and is Aesica's second major innovation board partnership since the event.

The new partnership will aim to develop new or improved methods for the manufacture of APIs at the global contract manufacturing organisation's Cramlington plant.

It is hoped that by identifying alternative technologies, it may be possible to improve cost-efficiencies and increase manufacturing capacity at the facility.

The work will be funded by a METRC Innovation Grant, according to Professor Steve Armes, academic director of METRC.

He confirmed: "Alternative manufacturing processes will be investigated to increase the manufacturing capacity of the API, as well as exploring how to achieve cost efficiencies at the Aesica Cramlington manufacturing site."

Barrie Rhodes, director of technology development at Aesica Pharmaceuticals, said he was "delighted" to embark on the partnership with Durham's Professor Andrew Whiting and Leeds' Professor Frans Muller "to bring together the best that industry and academia have to offer, in the interests of pharmaceutical innovation".