Scottish Investment Bank Funded TC Biopharm Completes Construction Of Its Clinical Manufacturing Facility At Maxim Park, Glasgow
Glasgow, Scotland 23 September 2014: Funding from the Scottish Investment Bank has helped to enable TC BioPharm (TCB) to complete construction of its new clinical manufacturing facility at Maxim Park, at the eastern end of Glasgow’s BioCorridor. The facility’s construction, which was completed in just 12 weeks, brings TCB one step closer to treating cancer patients during 2015.
Following initial funding from MEDINET and Scottish investors, the Scottish Investment Bank provided additional seed funds of £250k that were needed for TCB to build these state-of-the-art cleanroom facilities and offices.
The facility, which has been constructed to comply with UK ‘Good Manufacturing Practice’ regulations, comprises offices, two cleanrooms, quality control suites and development laboratories, the total footprint extends to 5,000 sq ft (465m2), of which 3,500 sq ft (325m2)is designed to support manufacture of clinical grade product.
TCB is developing a technology to use a patient’s own immune cells to target cancer and plans to treat its first cohort of patients during 2015, working alongside established cancer clinics in Glasgow, Southampton and Birmingham.
The next step for TCB is to get an IMP (Investigational Medicinal Product) licence from the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before clinical product can be made. Stating the importance of this licence Angela Scott, TC BioPharm’s operations director commented: ‘The team at TC BioPharm has done an amazing job building and commissioning our GMP cleanrooms here in Glasgow. All our efforts are now focussed on meeting UK regulations prior to MHRA inspection of the facility in November’.
Paul Lewis, managing director of operations at Scottish Enterprise, added: ‘Commercialisation of this ground-breaking cancer therapy in Scotland further cements our global reputation for regenerative medicine and stratified medicine. Congratulations to the team at TC BioPharm for establishing this new facility in such a short space of time. This is an exciting milestone for the company and is a great example of the ongoing international collaboration we have with Japan. Scottish Enterprise looks forward to continuing to work with TC BioPharm to help realise its ambitious growth plans.’
The Scottish Government Enterprise Minister, Fergus Ewing commented: ’The creation of new jobs is a fantastic boost for Scotland’s expanding biotechnology industry. Scotland has a strong industrial sciences backbone, our life sciences sector is one of the largest and fastest-growing in Europe, whilst our chemical industry is the country’s second top exporter – equating to £4.5 billion per year.
“Through the support from MEDINET and Scottish investors, TCB's investment to support further clinical studies and boost the Scottish economy will allow Scotland to be at the forefront of global transformational change to a biotechnology-inclusive economy.”
TCB’s executive chairman Dr Artin Moussavi said: ‘The team is rapidly advancing towards launch of a novel cell therapy for treatment of cancer patients in Europe, and opening of our clinical manufacturing facility marks an important milestone along this journey. The initial target indication is melanoma, a significant unmet medical need. We believe our gamma delta T cell platform has an excellent chance of providing safe and effective therapy for these patients.’
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Notes to Editors
About the Scottish Investment Bank
The Scottish Investment Bank is the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise, operating Scotland-wide in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It manages a suite of funds including the Scottish Co-investment Fund and the Scottish Venture Fund, which are partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); the Scottish Seed Fund, the Scottish Recycling Fund and the Renewable Energy Investment Fund. SIB is also the cornerstone investor in the privately-managed Scottish Loan Fund and an investor in Epidarex Capital’s life sciences fund. These support Scotland’s SME funding market to ensure businesses with growth and export potential have adequate access to capital. SIB also provides a team of financial readiness specialists to help companies prepare for new investment and more easily access finance.
About Scottish Development International
Scottish Development International (SDI) works to attract inward investment and knowledge to Scotland to help the economy grow. It also helps Scottish based companies to trade overseas and promotes Scotland as a good place to live, work and do business. It is a partnership between the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and its work is guided by the Scottish Government’s strategy for economic development in Scotland.
Contact
FTI Consulting
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
Matthew Cole / Robert Winder
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