New £38m National Biologics Manufacturing Centre to be based in Darlington

A new national base for the development of manufacturing processes for biological medicines such as antibodies and vaccines is set to be established in Darlington, as an integral part of the Tees Valley Enterprise Zone.

Worth an estimated £38m, the National Biologics Manufacturing Centre (NBMC) is being funded through investment announced by the government as part of the life sciences strategy and will be operated by Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) within the national manufacturing strategy dubbed the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

The new centre, which forms part of CPI, will help companies of all sizes in the biologics market to develop, prove, demonstrate, scale up and ultimately commercialise new biologics process technologies.

Science minister David Willetts said: "The new National Biologics Manufacturing Centre will significantly increase the UK’s manufacturing capability in biologics, keeping us ahead in the global race and strengthening the UK’s position as the location of choice for life sciences companies."

Dr Chris Dowle, director of the National Biologics Manufacturing Centre, said: "The new facility will support the development of new innovative process technologies and manufacturing routes. We will provide both large and small companies with open access facilities to prove and scale up their process, therefore reducing risk associated with product development. We will build on the UKs competencies in biopharmaceuticals to position ourselves as world leading."

Obviously, given the size and extension of such a manufacturing centre, as well as it highly sensitive activity, implementing a very solid and reliable access control and time and attendance system will certainly be a must, and this is specifically where Time & Attendance North East could put its extensive experience to work.

Our systems are user-friendly, innovative and designed for the working environment. They also offer a wide array of features, such as support for contactless smart cards (which would really come in handy in a busy shipyard), as well as optional finger print biometrics and mobile phone SIM card support.

Moreover, the multi-user, networked, multi site Time and Attendance, Access Control, Fire Roll Call and security system includes European Working Time Directive checking and reporting and allows administrators to save up to 2000 employees, supports extensive shift management and payroll-related operations, the allocation of various pay bands, and much more.

If you want to find out more about the range of solutions provided by Time & Attendance North East, just contact our dedicated product team, they’ll be more than happy to answer all of your queries.