ABB to Support Major Biotechnology Research Initiative in Ireland
Government, university and Life Science industry collaboration aims to improve the production of biopharmaceutical medicines
Dublin, Ireland, July 6, 2009- ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, will provide expertise, technology and support to help advance the manufacturing of new biopharmaceutical medicines, as part the recently announced $3.3 million Enterprise Ireland research program. The program's goal is to deliver more efficient, reliable and cost effective processes for manufacturing biopharmaceutical medicines.
Biopharmaceuticals are medical drugs produced using biotechnology; they are created through the alteration of molecules, genes and cells - the basic building blocks of life - to develop useful products, processes or services such as new medicines and therapies.
Ireland is the world's largest net exporter of pharmaceuticals, with more than $23.7 billion worth shipped in 2008. Supported by the Irish government, the Enterprise Ireland research program will work with national and multinational Life Sciences companies and several universities to help develop next generation manufacturing practices and process improvements to support the continued growth and success of Ireland's pharmaceutical industry.
The academic research team will be led by University College Dublin. xPAT, ABB's PAT Data Management Solution, will form the cornerstone of the technology used in this project. ABB will also provide the expertise to help develop improved production practices and systems for biopharmaceutical manufacturing. These leading-edge process control and process analytical technology (PAT) developments will provide precise quality control throughout the manufacturing process, to monitor and improve product quality and raw material use in real-time, during production. This will replace the traditional, less efficient method of laboratory quality analysis of the final product.
ABB has established expertise and has been at the forefront of developing solutions and standards for the implementation of PAT, integrated control and automation systems, as well as other innovative technologies that improve the pharmaceutical development and manufacturing process for Life Sciences customers.
As a collaborator in the Enterprise Ireland research program, ABB will work closely with all program participants to further develop next generation biopharmaceutical production processes that will improve product quality and safety, reduce time to market while optimizing the production process and meeting international regulatory requirements.
Daniel Keogh, ABB Sales Manager for PAT Solutions says "This is a unique opportunity to work closely with the major lifesciences corporations, to better understand their needs and clearly positions ABB as the leading global PAT solutions provider."
"By the end of this research project, the biopharmaceutical sector in Ireland will be able to reduce costs, increase competitiveness, and produce more reliable data required by regulators such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA)," said Enda Mimnagh, Life Sciences Manager, ABB Ireland.
Enterprise Ireland is the government agency responsible for the development and promotion of the indigenous business sector. Our mission is to accelerate the development of world-class Irish companies to achieve strong positions in global markets resulting in increased national and regional prosperity. For more information, visit www.enterprise-ireland.com
ABB's Centre of Excellence for the Life Sciences Industry in Ireland delivers key expertise and solutions to some of the world's largest chemical and pharmaceutical companies. For more information, please visit www.abb.com/lifesciences .The company employs more than 400 people in five facilities throughout Ireland.
An industry-specific application built on the innovative System 800xA infrastructure; ABB's Industrial IT eXtended PAT (xPAT )is a next generation PAT solution that harnesses the 800xA operations and engineering environment and integration capability to provide customers with significant improvements in the overall process and end product quality. It provides life sciences customers with a single system to access and examine online, real-time process data directly from the manufacturing operation. This configurable, windows-based system collects data from ABB and/or third-party vendor's analytical instruments and analyzes the data to determine the actual condition of the process. It then passes the resulting information to the ABB or third party control system, and to other applications that support the drug manufacturing process.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 120,000 people.
