Looking to Europe has proved a successful strategy for Melbourn Scientific, a pharmaceutical contract research company which has grown by 30 per cent in the last 12 months
Business development manager Mark Hammond has been driving the expansion strategy and his success has been rewarded with promotion to business development director.
Managing director Steve Westcott comments that the company is winning new business throughout the UK and Europe with particular success in winning 'full time equivalent' support as well as stability studies.
"Over the last 18 months we have increased our portfolio of services and now offer a number of niche services, such as pharmacopoeial testing which is mandatory for all pharmaceutical products but needs rare specialist skills.
"We have made significant investment in equipment and resources to support these services and promote them effectively and this effort is now paying off.
"Mark has played a strategic role in taking the company forward and helping to create a strong foundation for future expansion, it is good to welcome him to the board".
Mark Hammond is living proof that the company's policy of 'growing its own' staff and offering flexible working both motivates staff and increases productivity.
Mark rejoined the company three years ago after several years working for other companies in related fields.
He had first joined Melbourn as a school leaver and been encouraged by the company to study for a degree through day release.
After graduating he sought further experience and now Melbourn is benefiting from his wider knowledge and enthusiasm.
Mark comments that this policy is still part of the company culture.
"We have been actively recruiting for full time positions and have successfully recruited many analysts this year.
"By offering flexible working and encouraging school leavers and women returners among others to join us and by giving detailed on the job training we have also built up a pool of trained staff able to provide analytical support for wide ranging projects".
The company provides outsourced analysis of drug products and ingredients for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries.
The laboratory plays an important role in ensuring that tablets, inhalers, creams and capsules all perform as they should.
The company has particularly noticed an increase in demand for its method development and validation work, which is labour intensive and requires a good close partnership between the client and the contractor to be successfully outsourced.
Expansion of its range of services has also prompted a move for Melbourn Scientific.
The company has more than doubled its capacity moving into new purpose designed facility on the Saxon Way Business Park in Melbourn.
As managing director, Steve Westcott explains, the flexibility to scale up quickly is a strong competitive advantage in the contract services business, and the new premises will facilitate this: "The new property has increased the amount of area available for laboratory and offers an additional self-contained factory/laboratory that will be used for future expansion.
"In addition, there will be dedicated areas for an enhanced range of services.
"Stability storage and testing for example - where medicinal products are tested at intervals over a three or five-year period - can at times be very resource intensive.
"We plan to increase our capacity in this important area.
"Further, the facility will be inspected by the FDA, and the UK MHRA as well as our current clients to ensure that Melbourn continue operating to cGMP and GLP.
"To prove compliance with cGMP, facilities must be able to demonstrate that every aspect of their operations and processes are controlled, allowing for traceability in the testing of all products".
