International speciality pharmaceutical company ProStrakan Group has awarded SCM Pharma a five-year contract for the ongoing supply of its licensed product, Ketensin. The UK-based contract manufacturing organisation will be responsible for the filling of the 2ml and 10ml vial presentations, sterilisation, finished product testing and supply of the product.
Ketensin is indicated for the treatment of hypertensive crisis during and after surgery, and is marketed by ProStrakan in the Netherlands. As a niche product, it requires relatively limited supply, making it an ideal match for SCM Pharma.
‘With regular demand for Ketensin in the Netherlands, we required a manufacturing partner that could not only sterile fill into various sizes of vials and test the finished products, but that could reliably deal with smaller commercial quantities,’ said David Traynor, senior VP manufacturing and pharmaceutical sciences at ProStrakan.
‘Having completed the technical transfer and geared-up for the Process Qualification batch already, we have been impressed by the customer interaction, willingness and technical ability demonstrated by SCM Pharma.’
Based in Galashiels in Scotland, ProStrakan develops and commercialises medicines for the treatment of unmet therapeutic needs, which fits well with SCM Pharma’s expertise of delivering novel, difficult and dangerous finished drug products. ProStrakan recently received FDA approval in the US for both its breakthrough cancer pain product Abstral and testosterone gel FORTESTA.
‘This type of product not only complements our core capability of filling and sterilising small batches of glass vials but also makes optimum use of the in-house microbiology, chemistry and sterility testing services that our facility offers clients,’ said Dianne Sharp, managing director at SCM Pharma. ‘We are delighted to have secured a long-term deal with such a fast-growing high-profile client.’
The contract win follows the opening of SCM Pharma’s first US office at the end of last year to further boost the company’s growing export revenue and to better service US-based clients.