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A group of students from the University of Sunderland were able to gain hands-on experience of medical manufacturing techniques during a visit to Specials Clinical Manufacturing's £5 million facility in Prudhoe, Northumberland.

The 18 students - all enrolled on the MSc Enterprise in Biotechnology course or BSc Biotechnology - visited Specials to see how medical products, from capsules to creams and clinical trial doses, are manufactured and packaged. They were also there to witness the inner workings of a sterile manufacturing environment at first hand, getting ‘gowned up', sterilising their hands and donning headgear before entering the facility, a process that Specials' employees undertake every day.

"Our students learn a great deal from their university courses, but there is no substitute for a visit to somewhere like Specials, giving them experience of an actual working environment and one of the key options offered by their course," says Hilary Johnson, a lecturer on both courses. "This is the third year running that we have visited the Prudhoe site and feedback from the visit was really positive."

By inviting the students to its 17,000 sq ft facility in the heart of Northumberland, which also offers services such as syringe, capsule and sachet filling, Specials was aiming to open their eyes to a sector of the Pharmaceutical industry that is often overlooked, but which represents a rapidly expanding market both regionally and nationally.

"We are very proud of the team and the facilities we have here, so it makes sense to use them as a showcase for young people potentially entering the profession," says Peter Ball, General Manager of Specials Clinical Manufacturing. "We are always keen to work with local education providers to raise awareness of what is on offer in the Pharmaceutical industry, particularly here in the North East."

Many of the visiting students have come from overseas to complete their studies in Sunderland and, for many, Specials will represent their first experience of a modern clean-room facility. During the visit, they were shown the safeguards and management systems that ensure complicated orders can be processed safely and efficiently.

"One service we offer is the preparation and packaging of medication dosage for clinical trials, including coded labelling so that the actual drugs can be differentiated from the placebos," adds Peter. "The whole process, from planning to dispatch, is conducted in-house and the success of a multi-million pound drug development programme can depend on our knowledge and professionalism. It's a challenging job, but hugely rewarding, and we do all we can to keep young people informed about our industry.

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