Torbay Pharmaceuticals invests in new technologies to manufacture medicines for its global customer base
Located in and named after Torbay, Devon, Torbay Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Torbay Pharmaceuticals) was first established in the early 1970s. For over 50 years, the business was owned by the local National Health Service (NHS) – the UK’s publicly funded healthcare system, built to provide medical help for everybody based on their needs rather than their ability to pay. In 2023, the business – a manufacturer of sterile, injectable products – was purchased by North Edge Capital LLP, which has continued to invest significantly into its operations. Despite the change of ownership, Torbay Pharmaceuticals has built on many of the NHS’ core values, such as commitment to quality of care, working together for patients, and improving lives.
Today, Torbay Pharmaceuticals operates a state-of-the-art, 78,500-square-foot facility comprising of cutting-edge infrastructure and the latest industry equipment. Although it still delivers products for the NHS, Torbay Pharmaceuticals exports items globally, supplying over 20 other countries including Canada and Australia.
Chief Quality and Technical Officer, Mark Andrews, reveals the company is currently going through another period of investment and tells Manufacturing Today more about its continued development: “The majority of our products are used as emergency drugs during surgery for very sick patients,” he explains. “We manufacture a drug called Metaraminol, which is used as a vasopressor during operations to raise the patient’s blood pressure if it drops. We also make ingredients for artificial feed products (TPN) to provide all the required electrolytes and nutrients for nil-by-mouth patients. It’s critical that these products are sterile, meet the highest regulatory standards, and comply with all the requirements in terms of purity and safety.”
Investment from North Edge Capital LLP has allowed the company to fund more novel technologies, including automated inspection equipment for difficult to inspect containers and utilization of plastic vials. “This reduces the use of glass, which is more environmentally friendly and lowers the risk from elements such as aluminum for patients,” Mark continues. “We can recycle the plastic while increasing our scale, product range, and our ability to access markets outside of the UK again. In turn, this has promoted local growth in our community through the creation of more jobs. We’ve increased the number of people that we employ on site, creating greater career opportunities. Alongside our UK expansion, we’re presently looking to break into the US market.
“The drugs we manufacture are traditionally used in hospitals and are essential all around the world, so our next step is getting them approved in the US, where there are known shortages for these types of products. We’re looking to partner with US companies to jointly register and distribute within their network. This has led us to examine how we comply with US regulations – their regulatory body is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and they have distinct regulations that we don’t have in Europe. Overall standards are similar, but the way you adhere to them is different. We had our first FDA inspection last year, which was positive, and we’re beginning to foster those partnerships in America. However, we’re also focusing on other markets, such as Europe, partnering with companies and distributors within each territory to grow the overall size of our business.”
Entering new global markets means the company has had to address changes to technology and regulations. Working on products that could potentially be delivered to Japan, the US and Australia subsequently led it to bring in further external expertise to its highly talented team in Devon, including several experienced senior professionals, such Keyvan Djamarani as CEO. Along with the addition of experienced industry professionals, Torbay Pharmaceuticals has implemented new technologies to enhance production capabilities.
Driving growth and STEM opportunities in the UK
“We’ve invested around £10,000,000 in a brand-new filling line,” Mark highlights. “The primary container used for injectable products in the UK is a glass ampoule, comprising single pieces of glass formed into a container and heat sealed with the drug inside. They are stable and very easy to fill and supply, but there are challenges for healthcare professionals in opening those glass ampoules. Furthermore, the US market would rather have a rubber-sealed glass bottle with a crimp cap, so we’ve invested into a high-speed vial filling line which enables us to increase our capacity to manufacture the quantities required in rubber bunged vials, rather than glass ampoules.”
Following these integral investments, the company is focused intently on defining its growth over the next 12 months, taking new technology and compliance with regulatory standards and delivering it outside of the UK, as well as continuing to grow its UK base. Not only is it concentrating on partnerships in the US but also exploring possible collaborations with companies in the EU, including France, Germany, Austria and across Scandinavia.
“Our aim this year is to really expand our reach throughout those networks with the right partners,” Mark finalizes. “Focusing further ahead, it’s extremely important that we support and grow the number of opportunities for STEM-based roles in Torbay and South Devon and we’re particularly keen on enhancing and developing opportunities for women in STEM. We already have local networks set up for women in STEM to increase the number of senior colleagues across engineering and manufacturing fields. Our aim is essentially to have a much larger Torbay Pharmaceuticals in the future, supplying products to an increased number of countries and providing multiple career opportunities for local people. Torbay Pharmaceuticals has a real chance to shape the industry – it’s highly competitive but we strive to expand in the right way, honoring our NHS heritage. We want to forge valuable partnerships, grow our team, develop our people, and keep delivering even more products to patients.”
