Pfizer, GSK, Siemens Form ICES R&D Consortium

Pfizer Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd, Glaxo Wellcome Manufacturing Pte. Ltd. and Siemens Pte. Ltd, have established an R&D consortium A*STAR R&D Consortium Program – Innovative Processing of Specialties and Pharmaceuticals (iPSP). Launched by A*STAR’s Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES), the consortium offers a platform for pharmaceutical and specialty chemicals companies to address drug development challenges associated with costs, regulatory compliance and responsiveness in production and manufacturing processes.

The program also offers a platform for members to interact and develop processing technology knowledge by facilitating the technology transfer and manpower development in advanced chemical processing technologies. The program leverages ICES resources and capabilities, which include a kilo scale lab, pilot scale multipurpose continuous plant, a fully equipped development lab and staff experienced in process development and operation. The program will undertake research activities in areas such as process analytics (PAT), Quality by Design (Qbd) as well as continuous manufacturing systems.

“ICES has built strong and deep capabilities in the understanding of process science and technologies and the time is ripe for such depth and breadth of knowledge to be applied to the chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. By identifying common research focus, companies can mutually benefit from joint research. This will enable companies to address industry-wide challenges and further reinforce the competitiveness of Singapore’s chemicals industry,” said Dr. Keith Carpenter, executive director, ICES.