Case Study

Moorfields Pharmaceuticals offers same day solution for trials

By focusing on smaller volumes and specialist requirements such as same day delivery, Moorfields Pharmaceuticals is offering a very dedicated service for the production of sterile, liquid pharmaceuticals for use in contract manufacturing and clinical trials.  

Moorfields Pharmaceuticals concentrates on batch sizes of between 1 and 25,000 for vial presentations which it manufactures in a state-of-the-art facility built originally to fulfill the needs of the world-famous Moorfields Eye Hospital.  The company has built on its heritage to provide the UK’s widest range of ophthalmic specials and has invested in leading edge manufacturing techniques which include a Rommelag 3012M blow-filling system.  With the ability to produce as few as 5,000 ampoules this aseptic processing system is recognised as the superior solution for preservative free, ophthalmic drugs and sterile liquids for Phase 1 clinical trials.

Says Technical Director, Nick Precious, “We are becoming the supplier of choice for smaller contracts which have an added dimension or complication.  Our strength is the flexibility and ability to offer a tailored solution, without any loss in quality.”

Case Study

Moorfields Pharmaceuticals offers flexible response to recruitment delays

A small scale trial involved the manufacture of sterile syringes for a double blind, five way cross-over study for 20 patients over five weeks.  This was complicated by the fact that two of the drugs had a limited stability of 24 hours and the remaining three had only five days expiry.  In addition to this, the syringes for each day’s dosing had to be at a location over an hour away by 10am each day.

To ease some of the manufacturing intensity, Moorfields Pharmaceuticals agreed with the sponsors to that the longer dated syringes could be produced a little in advance and only those with a 24 hour shelf life would be prepared on the morning of dosing. 

All syringes were held at the Moorfields site and delivered on a daily basis according to the randomization list.

After a smooth start, the trial ran into difficulties with recruitment.  This impacted on the dates for dosing and hence the dates for manufacture to take place.   Moorfields Pharmaceuticals worked closely with the customer to meet their changing needs and the new time frames and as a result the study was completed without problem.

October 2009

  

Editor’s Notes

Moorfields Pharmaceuticals is the pharmaceutical manufacturing facility of Moorfields Eye Hospital, one of the world’s leading ophthalmic hospitals providing expertise in clinical care, research and education.

Moorfields has prepared pharmaceutical products in response to clinical needs for over 50 years but in the 1990s it was identified as a revenue generating opportunity for the hospital.

In 2003 a purpose-built manufacturing facility was opened on a separate site next to Moorfields Eye Hospital.

MHRA licenses were awarded in 2004.

Moorfields Eye Hospital was awarded Foundation Trust status in April 2004 and Moorfields Pharmaceuticals was established as an autonomous business unit.