Scitech has been awarded the design and build contract for the University of Oxford's Clinical Biomanufacturing Facility.
The team has been awarded the pre-construction services agreement (PCSA) to design and build an extension to the University of Oxford’s Clinical Biomanufacturing Facility (CBF). This new building will be sited adjacent to the existing CBF and includes two EU GMP grade C cleanrooms, materials warehousing and offices.
The CBF is a valuable resource for academic research and clinical drug development and this investment will ensure that it has the facilities required to also increase vaccine and biologics manufacturing significantly here in the UK
- Dave Grant, Managing Director at Scitech
Scitech provides consultancy, design, engineering, construction and validation services for the pharmaceutical and life science sectors.
The CBF
The CBF is the University of Oxford’s GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) manufacturing facility, which has been producing biological Investigational Medicinal Products (IMPs) according to the principles of GMP for early-phase clinical trials for more than 20 years.
Located on the Churchill Hospital site in Oxford, the CBF, in partnership with the Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccines Group, developed the ‘Oxford vaccine’ in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CBF holds a Manufacturer’s Authorisation for Investigational Medicinal Products (MIA (IMPs)) from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). This allows it to manufacture viral vector vaccines and advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), including gene and cell therapy products.
The expansion project will ensure that the CBF, Oxford and the wider UK life sciences sector remains at the forefront of innovative medicinal products.
"We will be using an offsite construction modular solution to deliver the extension to minimise any disruption to existing business operations at the CBF," the company explained.
Dave Grant, Managing Director at Scitech, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen to deliver this expansion project for the University of Oxford. The CBF is a valuable resource for academic research and clinical drug development and this investment will ensure that it has the facilities required to also increase vaccine and biologics manufacturing significantly here in the UK.”