BES starts building plant for cancer drug

Posted by on 16 May 2021

BES, the Rochdale-based specialist in design and delivery of complex pharmaceutical environments, has begun construction of a further sterile production plant for the Zoladex cancer drug at AstraZeneca’s Macclesfield campus.

Officially announced during a site visit by PMBoris Johnson, the prestigious project builds on BES’s reputation as a leading project design and delivery partner for sophisticated environments across the pharmaceutical, biopharma, medical and technology sectors.

The company has delivered an array of projects for AstraZeneca over the past 20 years, including a previous sterile production facility for Zoladex in 2016, and a recent Global Packing Centre.

BES is responsible for the fit-out and commissioning of the new plant, which will be completed by the end of 2022.

Taking on the role of principal contractor from May the company is responsible for safety, buildability and CDM (construction design & management) compliance on the project, which will be delivered in line with site-specific safety protocols and Covid-19 restrictions.

The construction programme includes the use of pre-fabricated service modules to underpin the quality and consistency of the services installations and reduce man hours on site, delivering operational and safety benefits.

Graham Drew, BES project director, said: “The new sterile production facility we are delivering at AstraZeneca’s Macclesfield is a highly complex and process-driven environment, calling upon the specialist expertise of our multi-disciplinary team.

“We are responsible for installation and commissioning of all architectural, HVAC, electrical and process utilities, for the building’s sterile accommodation, associated cleanroom areas and technical spaces. We will also co-ordinate installation and integration of the client’s process equipment, within the heavily serviced production environment.”

The AstraZeneca project win extends a period of exceptional growth for BES, as the company’s specialist, technical expertise continues to serve strong demand for a turnkey approach to design and delivery of facilities for medical and pharmaceutical organisations.

The company has garnered a reputation for technical projects of this kind, based on its track record over the past 20 years.

Neil Bennion, project manager from AstraZeneca added: “Continued investment in our production capability for Zoladex is an important part of global cancer treatment preparedness and of our ability to respond to increased demand and support patients worldwide.

“BES’s experience of delivering similar projects for AstraZeneca, their multi-disciplinary team and their technical expertise made them the ideal collaborative partner on this project to help us realise our goals for quality assured and time critical project delivery.”