Nicola Sturgeon opens new cancer drug facility

By SCOTT MACNAB
Published on 26/03/2012 12:03

A NEW pharmaceutical facility making cancer “smart bomb” drugs was today opened by health secretary Nicola Sturgeon.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) not yet available in Europe, but are expected to be approved soon, after recently being licenced in the US.

The Grangemouth-based manufacturing drug giant Piramal has had its facility upgraded with the help of £145,000 of Scottish Enterprise funding.

ADCs are a new class of cancer drugs which hunt out and specifically kill the cancerous cells – like a ‘smart bomb’.

Ms Sturgeon said: “I am delighted to be officially opening Piramal’s latest state of the art suite – and see first hand the manufacture of the only licensed cancer drugs of this kind in the world.

“These new drugs will be reviewed for a European licence soon – providing an opportunity for them to be considered for use in the NHS in Scotland ahead of the rest of the UK.”

The company employs around 85 people, with the new suite creating 15 of those jobs.”

“This is an excellent addition to Scotland’s diverse and well established life sciences base which boasts more than 640 organisations and employs around 32,000 people,” Ms Sturgeon added.

“Investment in health research and development has the potential to turn cutting-edge research into real health benefits.”