Ingenza Begin Working to The Principles of cGMP
In May 2010 work commenced in Ingenza Ltd’s first cGMP compatible laboratory. The laboratory, complete with state-of-the-art equipment, is the fourth addition to Ingenza’s already fully functional Biotechnology, Process Development and Fermentation laboratories.
Ingenza are implementing The Principles of cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practice) within the company to extend into the rapidly growing biopharmaceutical market and attract new customers. Many new active pharmaceutical ingredients are biopharmaceuticals such as clinically beneficial antibodies or enzymes. Biopharmaceuticals are being introduced by drug companies to treat a range of diseases such as cancers and arthritis. Ingenza’s work in biopharmaceuticals builds on core skills in strain engineering, molecular biology and downstream processing to deliver improved manufacturing of these high value products. cGMP compatibility requires thorough documentation and full traceability of all processes to ensure that the development work performed at Ingenza can be readily scaled up into full cGMP manufacture.
Dr. Alison Frew, Head of Quality at Ingenza explains, “The past few months have been a very exciting time for Ingenza with the launch of our cGMP compatible laboratory. It has been a lot of hard work to go from an empty shell to a fully equipped laboratory complete with all of the required documentation but with great team support it has been possible.” Dr. Frew continued, “We now look forward with enthusiasm to the new opportunities available to Ingenza through the opening of this laboratory.”
Ingenza has a developed customer base in biopharmaceuticals; the upgrade to cGMP compatibility will attract significant new business from a wider range of biopharmaceutical companies.
Scots Businesses Open Doors to Young Scientists
On Friday 12 March, Scottish students got a chance to go behind the scenes and discover how science is used in business.
Companies across the country opened their doors to secondary school pupils in a bid to develop understanding of how science is used every day in Scotland.
The ‘Open Doors’ event was part of the Scottish Government’s ‘Do something creative. Do science’ campaign. The events marked the start of National Science and Engineering Week.
Businesses in Edinburgh and Glasgow were involved in the day, with over 120 schoolchildren taking part.
Professor Anne Glover, Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland said:
“It is a scientist’s job to make sense of the world we live in; there is so much variety in the work they do and the career opportunities are limitless. We hope by giving young people the chance to experience what it is like to be a sound technician, a zoo-keeper, an astronomer, a researcher or an inventor first-hand, they will get to see that by continuing to study science they can lay the foundations for a rewarding career.”
Stephen Woollard, Education and Interpretation Manager for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland who is involved with the day, said:
“We are delighted to be supporting this initiative, which will allow young people to gain practical experience of how science is applied in the real world. We hope that in showing a group of pupils the importance of science ‘behind the scenes’ at Edinburgh Zoo they will be able to appreciate the scientific elements of many different professions and the bearing it has on all aspects of life.”
Professor Colin Cunningham, Director of the UK Extremely Large Telescope programme at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, said:
“We are delighted to welcome students to the Royal Observatory Edinburgh as part of the Scottish Government campaign ‘Do Something Creative. Do Science’. We are in a unique position to provide the pupils with a practical insight into how the whole scientific process fits together.
Pupils will meet research scientists looking to find answers to the big questions about our Universe, and engineers who are designing and building the technology to help astronomers find those answers.”
At the Roslin BioCentre near Edinburgh, Ingenza, BigDNA, and Roslin Cellab took part, entertaining more than 30 students from nearby Beeslack High School and Penicuik High School with laboratory demonstrations and a peek into the lives of scientists who have continued on in the field beyond the school lab bench.
Dr Robert Speight, Head of Biosciences at Ingenza, said:
“We are really pleased to be able to offer young people an insight into how interesting and exciting science can be. They will be able to see first hand how challenging, relevant and useful scientific research is. Hopefully after visiting Ingenza, pupils will feel that continuing to study science is important and can lead to a range of fascinating and rewarding careers.”
Dr John March, founder of Big DNA Ltd said:
“We are delighted to welcome young people to visit our labs at Roslin as part of Open Doors Science Week. I am always keen to encourage the next generation to think about a career in science. I never got that opportunity when I was younger and there are so many opportunities in the future – the future of our world depends on scientists and there are quite frankly, not enough of them! Here at Big DNA we have a very young team of scientists who are all highly committed to our goal of finding new ways to administer vaccines which will save millions of lives in years to come. The research we have to do to achieve this will take years and I hope that our young visitors will learn a bit more about how science and business works together on their visit this Friday.”
The “Do something creative. Do science” campaign aims to raise awareness amongst S1-S4 students that anything is possible with science and by studying science you open up many interesting and exciting opportunities. For further information, the Positive about Science website at www.infoscotland.com/science provides further information on the campaign
Brazilians Visit Local Company to Talk Biofuels
On 27 November, a Brazilian delegation of biofuel experts visited Scotland to attend an event organised by Scottish Development International (SDI) and Edinburgh Napier University’s Biofuel Research Centre. The scientists also made a point to visit one company during their visit: Roslin-based Ingenza, a biocatalyst and bioprocess development company.
The meeting’s aim was to help build relationships with key Brazilian representatives across government, industry and business agencies, following a successful SDI and UKTI biofuels mission to Brazil earlier in the year which initiated a number of potential collaborations.
Scotland is poised to learn valuable lessons from Brazil’s biofuels industry particularly regarding its experience of producing ethanol and the development path which has led to it becoming a global biofuel industry leader and a policy model for other countries.
While biofuels offer significant potential for sustainable transport, industrial production, electricity and heat, the industry in Europe continues to engender much debate around its economic, environmental and social impacts. Brazil is considered as have the world’s first sustainable biofuel economy and can help Scotland avoid and overcome some of these concerns.
Professor Martin Tangney, Director of Edinburgh Napier’s Biofuel Research Centre, said: “We are honoured to host such distinguished guests at Edinburgh Napier as part of the delegation’s visit to Scotland. The Biofuel Research Centre is driving the development of sustainable biofuels for Scotland. Brazil is the world leader in biofuel and meets over half of all its fuel requirements with biofuel. There is a huge amount that Brazil can teach us and this visit represents an important chance to establish valuable collaborations with both industry and academia.”
After the event, the Brazilian scientists visited Ingenza. The relationship between Brazilian biofuel experts and this small Scottish company originated with Dr Robert Speight’s visit to Brazil on the SDI and UKTI mission in October 2009.During that fact-finding trip, Dr Speight, Ingenza’s Operations Director, explored the biofuel industry and operations in Brazil including visits to EMBRAPA, BP Biofuels, Fermentec, and Petrobras, and he met several of the scientists driving the industry there, who were part of the delegation recently visiting Scotland.
The Brazilian group was interested in learning more about Ingenza, which has recently entered the field of biofuel research. Ingenza has expertise in developing novel biological processes to make chemical reactions deliver better results. They have long used this knowledge to work with pharmaceutical companies to produce specific drug molecules at high yields with great efficiency and are now turning that same expertise toward the production of biofuels. [if you want -- add 1 -2 more sentences on specifics of science/technology you are getting into with biofuels/links/similarities to what Brazil is doing...]
“This return visit by some of the scientists I met in Brazil has really served to cement our relationship as we continue to learn from each other. Their visit to our Ingenza headquarters has helped them learn what capabilities we have in this field. The meeting has really helped further the potential for future collaboration “ said Dr Speight.
The Brazilian delegation included representatives from some of the world’s leading biofuels companies, such as Petrobas – the oil and biofuels producer which is also the largest company in Latin America; UNICA – the Brazilian sugarcane industry association and Dedini – the largest supplier of plants and equipment for the sugar and alcohol sector.
This article originally published by Nexxus, www.nexxusscotland.com, the networking organisation for life scientists in central Scotland. For further information, please contact Sarah Graham, Ingenza Office & Marketing Manager at T: 0131-200-6355 E: sarah.graham@ingenza.com or visit www.ingenza.com.
For Scottish Development International, please visit www.sdi.co.uk and for the Edinburgh Napier University Centre for Biofuel Research, visit www.napier.ac.uk/randkt/rktcentres/bfrc
The Apprentices
On the 16thof November 2009 Ingenza Ltd based at the Roslin BioCentre appointed two Modern Apprentices – Kirsty Glendinning, 17 and Ross Hepplewhite also 17. Kirsty and Ross were the successful candidates who joined Ingenza through the Scottish Government Scheme, ‘Innovate with an Apprentice.’
Ingenza was introduced to the 2 for 1 Life Sciences Apprenticeship offer by Forth Valley College after a routine visit to Dr Ian Archer, Head of Process Development at Ingenza. Dr Archer said “We began talks with Skills Development Scotland immediately to make use of this fantastic offer. After our eligibility for the scheme was confirmed we started advertising for our future Modern Apprentices.”
Forth Valley College based in Falkirk played a significant role in Ingenza’s recruitment for the Modern Apprenticeship positions as ultimately the successful applicants would attend Forth Valley College on a weekly basis as part of their 3 year apprenticeship with Ingenza. After interviewing many applicants Kirsty and Ross were appointed and are now approaching their fourth month with Ingenza. In addition to their day release training at Forth Valley College Kirsty and Ross are receiving excellent support from the work based learning team based at the college.
Dr Archer is an enthusiastic supporter of the Modern Apprenticeship; “As a company we have always focused recruitment on individuals being educated to degree level and higher, but we soon realised that further support was required in certain areas and we needed to recruit technicians.” Dr Archer continued; “What’s great about this scheme is that the apprentices will get the theoretical background and practical based learning on the job which is directly suited to Ingenza’s requirements. I believe both of them will be very employable by the end of their training.”
Kirsty, now 18, and Ross, 17, attended the local Beeslack High School before joining Ingenza. When asked about their initial thoughts of the position at Ingenza Kirsty said “As soon as I read about the apprenticeship I knew it was a unique opportunity and immediately applied. My parents were delighted when I got the job.” Ross added “I had never heard of an apprenticeship like this before so I was intrigued to learn more about the science industry.”
Dr Archer added, “Kirsty and Ross are now integrated as part of the team here at Ingenza and are learning rapidly through Forth Valley College and their on-the-job training and have already begun to make very useful contributions to the company.”
For further information, please contact Sarah Graham, Office and Marketing Manager, Ingenza Ltd. T: 0131 200 6365 or E: sarah.graham@ingenza.com or visit www.ingenza.com
Ingenza expands Roslin Laboratory and Office Facilities
Thursday, 1st January 2009, Ingenza has expanded its Roslin research laboratories to add a further two laboratories, dedicated to the fermentation and analysis of engineered microbes for biofuel applications. The expanded facilities will enable the company to fully exploit its biocatalysis platforms in fine chemical manufacture, biopharmaceutical production and biofuels.
Ingenza joins Richmond Chemical group
Tuesday, 1st January 2008, Ingenza Ltd., has been acquired by Richmond Chemical Biosciences, a unit of Richmond Chemical Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, USA. The acquisition will enable Ingenza to accelerate the commercialisation of its proprietary biocatalytic manufacturing technologies through access to Richmond Chemical’s worldwide sales and marketing, manufacturing and distribution activities. Richmond Chemical Corporation is a provider of fine chemicals to the pharmaceutical, food and agrochemical industries.
Ingenza relocates to Roslin Biocentre
Friday, 1st December 2006, Ingenza has relocated to new facilities at the Roslin Biocentre, near Edinburgh, Scotland. The move is part of Ingenza’s development and growth programme and will provide significantly enhanced bioprocess research and development facilities to enable the acceleration of Ingenza’s proprietary bioprocess technology. The company’s new address is: Wallace Building, Roslin Biocentre, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9PP, UK.
Ingenza wins SMART:SCOTLAND award to develop new bioprocess
DEVELOPMENT OF “AMORA” BIOPROCESS PLATFORM
Ingenza has been awarded a second SMART:SCOTLAND award to further enhance its proprietary biocatalysis technology. Ingenza Ltd will use the SMART:SCOTLAND Award to develop “AMORA”, a new biocatalytic platform technology to prepare enantiopure chemical compounds, specifically amines and amino acids, for the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and fine chemical industries. The AMORA bioprocess offers a highly efficient, more general and environmentally cleaner manufacturing route than conventional synthetic chemical methods.