Onyx to Invest in Continuous Flow Technology

UK-based contract research organisation Onyx Scientific is set to make a significant investment into continuous flow manufacturing to allow its customers to explore alternatives during product research and development programmes.

The chemistry specialist has decided to adopt a more novel approach to manufacturing API in a bid to overcome the often time-consuming and costly process of batch manufacturing.

Denise Bowser, commercial director at Onyx Scientific, said: “The move to continuous flow manufacturing has been seen by a handful of companies in the sector to date so we feel that we are very much at the forefront of technological advances when it comes to the development and production of API.

“For us, it makes better use of our space, gives us a quicker output and provides greater flexibility in the manufacturing of compounds as well as delivering considerable cost savings, which we can pass onto clients.”

As part of a wider investment initiative, Onyx Scientific is also strengthening its GMP capability following increased market demand for its GMP API manufacturing services.

The company has taken this decision after experiencing a major uptake in its GMP capability from big pharma companies, biotechs, universities and major charities involved in drug development.

Onyx Scientific reported a 45% uplift in solid-state chemistry related revenues last year, which was driven by early stage campaigns.

Denise added: “Over the last year or so, we’ve felt a surge in demand for GMP manufacturing at our site in Sunderland so have moved to increase capacity by investing in additional vessels to satisfy market demand.

“The integration of pre-formulation development and GMP manufacturing has really benefited many clients over the last 2 years and this is a trend that we expect to continue in the future as clients look for smarter ways to develop  compounds.”

With MHRA and FDA facilities in the UK and India, Ipca Laboratories owned Onyx Scientific assists companies from medicinal chemistry and preclinical through Phase I-III, scaling-up to API production. It also recently enhanced its presence in the US by adding local representation to support west coast clients.

The company shares a close alliance with Molecular Profiles, helping assist drug development companies across the world with a complementary chemistry, API manufacturing and formulation development offering.