Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Competing against the trend of cut-price outsourcing to the Far East, Melbourn says it has successfully won business through its quality of service and focus on pharmaceutical analysis as a service provision.

To support its international business drive, the company has developed a leading-edge 3D virtual laboratory tour – offering overseas clients the ability to tour its facilities without leaving their offices.

This, together with a unique online project-tracking tool created by Melbourn, which provides 24/7 access to reports and data, have enabled the company to compete on a world stage.

But business development director Mark Hammond believes it is people that are the secret of the company’s success: “There is a world shortage of pharmaceutical analysts so we have been proactive in training our own staff, we have brought on 11 graduates over the last year, building up a skills base with knowledge of the latest techniques and equipment.

“Overseas business now accounts for 28 per cent of our turnover, so we have concentrated on developing communication protocols to support this. This includes ‘off-shoring’ our spoken English to reduce ambiguities and providing tools like the virtual walkthrough which enables clients to visualise how the project teams work.”

The company has more than doubled its capacity since the purchase of a new facility earlier this year, which was ergonomically designed to include a large, open plan area with multi-function workstations.

There has also been significant investment in the latest equipment. Melbourn is the first contract laboratory in the country to offer inhaler testing with the electronic lung developed by TTP and has recently expanded its offering for the analysis of parenterals by the addition of testing for sub visible particles using the latest LiQuilaz light obscuration system.

All pharmaceutical products need to go through a stringent regulatory process and the investigations and recommendations provide by Melbourn Scientific play a pivotal role in ensuring that products pass.

To this end, the company offers a wide range of services including method development, validation and transfer, stability studies and pharmacopoeial testing.

Melbourn was established 15 years ago to provide contract analytical services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries and has grown steadily and organically ever since.