Pfizer has announced the investment of £5 million to grow its manufacturing capabilities for paediatric medicines at its Discovery Park site in Sandwich, Kent.
The news coincides with the Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership (MMIP) annual conference, this year hosted by Pfizer at Discovery Park, which will celebrate the UK as a world-leader in medicines manufacturing.
The company said in a release that the “investment will enhance Pfizer’s patient-centric design and manufacturing capability for paediatric medicines in clinical trials”, and that the “sum will cover the cost of a highly-specialised novel manufacturing technology enabling scientists to explore innovative ways to make medicines more palatable with flexible dosing for children”.
The investment is the latest in a series of investments Pfizer has made in advanced manufacturing technology at its site in Sandwich, which now totals £36 million since 2018 and has led to renewed growth and 80 new scientific jobs.
Kent County Council has also announced a new fund for innovation at the Discovery Park through the East Kent Growth Fund which was established in 2012 to help investors grow businesses and create new jobs in the area.
Julian Thompson, VP, global regulatory operations said that the new investment “demonstrates Pfizer’s continuing focus on innovation in advanced manufacturing and highlights our patient first approach; ensuring that cutting-edge technology can be used to design and manufacture medicines for clinical trials that are palatable for children with the most serious illnesses.
Today’s announcement builds on a series of investments we have made to this site over the last few years and further reinforces our commitment to progressing science here in the UK.”
There are currently over 700 employees based at Pfizer’s site in Sandwich, working across a number of functions critical to the delivery of Pfizer’s mid-to-late stage medicines portfolio.
