DISPATCHES FROM BPI EUROPE 2017

Getting a feel for biomanufacturing at the Biotech Training Facility

24-Apr-2017 - Last updated on 28-Sep-2021 at 11:55 GMT

Hands-on teaching offers drugmakers, vendors and regulators a better understanding of bioprocessing, according to the managing director of a training facility in Leiden, The Netherlands.

As part of Bioprocessing International (BPI) Europe 2017, Biopharma-Reporter attended a tour of the Biotech Training Facility, located about 50km southwest of Amsterdam.

The centre, funded through European and local grants and private investment, began operations last year offering companies and individuals training across a wide-range of biotech processes.

Customers so far have included Big Pharma firms, small biotechs and vendors themselves, looking to test equipment in GMP-like conditions.

According to managing director Ronald Kompier, the chance to test equiment and biomanufacturing processes hands-on is more vauable than learning through lectures or online.

Quoting Confucius, he said: "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."

The facility is not the only example of such a service for the biotech industry. In Ireland, the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) has been described as 'a flight simulator' for biopharma manufacturing.

And furthermore, sites like North Carolina State University’s Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC), and Austin Community College in Texas have benefited from government funding to help train bioprocessing staff.