Home for futuristic cancer fighting robot near completion
Dienstag, 18 August 2009
The first construction phase of a multi million pound state-of-the-art medical facility, which will house a cancer fighting robot in Sheffield has reached completion.
The cytotoxic robot can manipulate highly toxic and time sensitive medicine for people undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
The robot is one of only a handful in Europe and is only the second of its kind in the UK.
B Braun Medical’s revolutionary new Aseptic Unit at its Thorncliffe Park headquarters in Sheffield is due to be furnished with cutting-edge equipment to manufacture life-saving medication for the region’s key hospitals following completion of the phase one build.
HP Construction and B Braun’s construction agent Andy Fletcher from Armsons Darwent Shaw are the main contractors for the phase one build, and are now putting finishing touches to the building, which will house one of the most advanced medicine preparation robots in Europe.
Liam Grottick, managing director of B Braun Medical’s Aseptic Manufacturing Service, said: “The Aseptic facility will have the very latest scientific capability to manipulate highly complex, sophisticated medicine and products to make them specific to patients, which is hugely significant and important news for the NHS.
“Europe has less than 10 cytotoxic robots and this unit will add significant value to our existing pharmaceutical products and improve B Braun’s portfolio of the latest in ground-breaking medical technology.”
The capabilities of the robot will enable B Braun Medical to prepare medicine with a very limited shelf life and distribute them to any destination in a two-hour radius of the facility.
B Braun’s Aseptic Unit will be the region’s first outsourcing unit to manufacture and deliver a range of sterile prescription medicines to hospitals, including pre-filled syringes, parenteral feeding systems for administering nutrition via the patient’s bloodstream and pain control medication.
The showcase unit will boast three separate production rooms, cold stores, a laboratory and office facilities for a strong team of specialist registered pharmacists, technicians, management and administration staff.
Currently, more than 360 healthcare technology companies operate out of the region including international corporations such as Smith & Nephew, Johnson & Johnson, Reckitt Benkiser, and Seven Seas.
The sector is growing four times faster than in other UK regions and employs more than 10,000 people thanks to one of the country’s highest concentrations of medical device companies, exceptional access to clinical trials, pioneering research and development, and specialist skills in surgical instrumentation, orthopaedics and advanced wound care. The region also boasts one of Europe’s largest teaching hospitals.