Almac Adds Late Stage Customisation Suite to Assist Orphan Drug / Niche Product Launches Into Europe

CRAIGAVON, Northern Ireland, November 25, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- With a growing requirement to support our clients with their EU product launches, reduce stock holdings and provide greater flexibility with regional packs, Almac has added an additional dedicated Late Stage Customisation Suite to the company's commercial facilities.

Mark English, Distribution Manager at Almac, explains, "Late stage customisation involves working with the client, understanding their country launch requirements to develop an EU regional supply strategy. Grouping countries by language allowing for multilanguage packs to service multiple markets, with country specific information added at point of despatch, provides significant cost advantages. Working with products that are manufactured in very low volumes at, often, a very high cost means that solutions to minimise stock holding are of particular benefit."

Historically the countries grouped together tended to be based on geographical proximity to ensure that distribution to the end user was as short as possible. However with modern shipping methods this is no longer necessarily the case. The main factors now tend to be which countries share a common language (e.g. UK/Ireland and Germany/Austria) and having at least one of the "Big five" (Germany, France, Spain, Italy & the UK) in each regional pack, meaning that smaller markets can be served when required without committing any stock for orders that may never arise.

Assembling regional packs results in one pack being available for as many as five markets, as country specific information is applied to the 'Blue Box' area as orders are received direct from pharmacies or hospitals. The addition of the dedicated Late Stage Customisation Suite gives Almac the flexibility to process these orders immediately ensuring just-in-time delivery.

David Downey, VP Commercial Operations of Almac, explains, "With our client partners, we have successfully launched many high-value, orphan drug / niche products into the European market, hitting launch timelines, and maximising product flexibility to supply multiple markets. Utilising our integrated pharmaceutical and distribution services we can provide a seamless transfer of product and services to the end-user."

About Almac Group

The Almac Group offers a broad range of services from R&D, biomarker discovery and development, API manufacture, formulation development, clinical trial supply and IXRS technology (IVRS/IWRS), to commercial-scale manufacture. Almac provides services to more than 600 companies, including all the world leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.

The company employs 3,000 individuals and is headquartered in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. US operations are based in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and California. Almac has officially gained full possession of its new $120m North American Headquarters which started in July 2008 and employees will relocate during the fall.

For more information about the Almac Group, please visit http://www.almacgroup.com

SOURCE Almac Group