SGS Life Science Services Plans Expansion of its Biopharmaceutical and Bioanalytical Testing Services Business in its Poitiers, France Facility
SGS’s Life Science Services announced today that it plans to expand its biopharmaceutical and bioanalytical testing services to meet increasing demand in these fields. These services involve testing in support of preclinical development and clinical trials, and encompass method development and validation, cell-based bioassays, biomarkers, and immunogenicity testing. SGS currently offers it bioanalytical testing services from two GLP compliant laboratories in Europe. With over 25 years of experience, SGS is one of Europe's largest bioanalytical service providers.
The first phase of this expansion entails an investment of 2.1 million Euros (2.9 million USD) in the SGS Life Science Services facility in Poitiers, France to expand the analytical services for biopharmaceuticals such as recombinant proteins, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, synthetic peptides and oligonucleotides. Over the next year, SGS will add an additional 500 square meters (5,400 square feet) of new laboratory space dedicated to bioanalysis. Concurrent with this, SGS will invest in new cutting-edge analytical equipment including the latest generation of mass spectrometers and state-of-the-art platforms for immunoanalysis. This will be complemented by the recruitment of up to 50 skilled scientists over the next 2-3 years to join the current team of dedicated PhD-level scientists and laboratory analysts to support the expansion activities at the Poitiers site.
Because more and more of potential drug therapies in the drug development pipeline are biologics, the investment in the Poitiers laboratory will increase the analytical development capabilities and facilitate extensive GLP services for large molecules, including method development and validation, and routine analysis. “SGS has established an excellent reputation for providing highly efficient and expert bioanalytical services in support of international drug development of NCEs (new chemical entities) and we want to ensure that the same reputation for the support of NBEs (new biological entities) will be sustained during our growth”, said Alain Renoux, General Manager for the Life Science Services facility in Poitiers.
Additionally, SGS recently announced its acquisition of the M-Scan group of companies with laboratories in the UK, US, Switzerland, and Germany. Along with a broader and deeper expertise in biopharmaceutical characterization, analytical development, and quality control for biologics and biosimilars, the acquisition also adds additional bioanalytical testing capabilities.
With 16 laboratories offering contract analytical services, SGS leverages its strong global network to deliver harmonized, solutions to large pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. In addition to testing services for the pharmaceutical market, SGS also provides clinical trial management (Phase I to IV) and services encompassing bioequivalence studies, bioanalytical services, data management, pharmacovigilance and regulatory consultancy.
The SGS Group is the global leader and innovator in inspection, verification, testing and certification services. Founded in 1878, SGS is recognized as the global benchmark in quality and integrity. With 59,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,000 offices and laboratories around the world.