Genentech’s ECP-1 Bacterial Manufacturing Facility Named 2010 Facility of the Year Awards Overall Winner

ISPE, a global not-for-profit association of 22,000 technical professionals working in the manufacturing and drug development sectors of the pharmaceutical industry, announced during the Keynote Session at its 2010 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, USA, that Genentech’s ECP-1 Bacterial Manufacturing Facility is the overall winner of the 2010 Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) program.

Sponsored by ISPE, INTERPHEX, and Pharmaceutical Processing magazine, the Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) program recognizes state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing projects that utilize new and innovative technologies to enhance the delivery of a quality project, as well as reduce the cost of producing high-quality medicines. Now in its sixth year, the awards program effectively spotlights the accomplishments, shared commitment, and dedication of individuals in companies worldwide to innovate and advance pharmaceutical manufacturing technology for the benefit of all global consumers.

Located in Tuas, Singapore, Genentech’s ECP-1 Bacterial Manufacturing Facility was named the 2010 Overall Winner due to its innovative project execution, which outpaced an ambitious schedule. The facility, which was built to increase the production capacity of Lucentis®, a drug used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration, was placed on an ultra-fast track schedule, and was slated to go from engineering kick-off through initiation of GMP qualification batches in just 24 months.

The business requirements of the ECP-1 project presented significant schedule, cost, and execution challenges. The project team took a highly collaborative approach, led by Genentech’s effective decision making. By embracing a modular approach from the beginning, along with an early focus on site issues, outstanding project planning, execution techniques, and team development, the project team beat the aggressive schedule by two weeks. Additionally, the project came in 10.5% under a US$217 million budget. The 2010 FOYA Judging Panel was impressed by the way Genentech’s project brought together three geographic regions to work together and overcome severe logistical challenges.

Genentech’s ECP-1 Bacterial Manufacturing Facility was selected as the overall winner of the 2010 Facility of the Year Awards by a judging panel consisting of eight prominent pharmaceutical industry professionals with global experience. In addition to Genentech, five other companies were Category Winners in 2010. They were:

• Biogen Idec, headquartered in Weston, Massachusetts, USA, winner of the Facility of the Year Award for Operational Excellence
• MannKind Corporation, headquartered in Valencia, California, USA, winner of the Facility of the Year Awards for both Equipment Innovation and Process Innovation
• Pfizer Biotechnology Ireland, located in Cork, Ireland, winner of the Facility of the Year Award for Sustainability
• Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, located in Dublin, Ireland, winner of the Facility of the Year Award for Facility Integration

More information about each of the winning projects, as well as the Facility of the Year Awards program in general, can be found at www.FacilityoftheYear.org.