Accelerating chemical process development at GSK...

A Lara™ Controlled Laboratory Reactor (CLR) from Radleys has enabled GlaxoSmithKline (Stevenage, UK) to create an open access facility in which optimised synthetic routes for early candidates are developed to supply material for testing and scale up.

The Scale-Up Lab (SUL) at GSK Stevenage is part of the Chemical Development group and is involved in the production of material for phase 1 clinical trials and early toxicity testing in support and approval of these trials, in addition to process qualification prior to further scale up. The SUL at Stevenage is acknowledged as a centre-of-excellence for controlled laboratory reactors, working across a range of therapeutic areas.

Traditionally the SUL had employed a range of jacketed glass reaction systems developed with parts sourced from several suppliers. However these systems are somewhat inflexible, especially in terms of exchanging vessels, which is particularly labour-intensive and time consuming. To cope with different reaction volume requirements it was necessary to employ a permanent 3-vessel platform that occupied a large area of valuable laboratory space. Data logging required the use of external portable equipment that was cumbersome and did not fully integrate all parameters.

Having previously supplied custom glass reactors to GSK, the Radleys Lara CLR was selected as it delivered a completely integrated solution. Lara offered hardware and software components specifically designed to provide the ease-of-use, time-savings, comprehensive data logging and reliability sought by the SUL.

Offering a choice of easily interchangeable jacketed glass reaction vessels the Radleys Lara CLR has enabled the SUL to considerably reduce downtime between user modifications. Its compact footprint has freed up fumehood space for other equipment. A host of novel hardware features and intuitive PC control software has allowed the system to be productively used by all staff. Comprehensive data logging built into the system has enabled the SUL to use the Lara CLR to control and monitor a range of third party devices.

Looking to the future GSK are now investigating how the Lara CLR can further assist them in accelerating applications in chemical and process development.

For additional information on how the Lara CLR can help your chemical development requirements please email sales@lara-clr.com