Origin opens new facility at Alderley Park to work with UK pharma start-ups

Global pharmaceutical solutions provider, Origin, has announced it’s opening a second UK facility in Alderley Park, the world-class science campus in the North of England.

Origin has invested heavily in its New Product Development and Innovation department at its HQ in Melton, East Riding of Yorkshire over the past 24 months and the new facility in Alderley Park will specialise in cutting-edge digital pharma packaging products.

The growing community of biotech and life science SMEs will have on-site access to Origin’s packaging technologists who specialise in digital secondary packaging, compliant primary packaging and child-resistant design.

At the new Alderley Park facility, Origin will introduce pharma start-ups to the latest digital products, including Smart-I, one of the world’s most advanced anti-counterfeiting solutions using patented perennial encryption technology to prevent the duplication of data and heighten security.

The recently developed CliniWatch™, purposely designed for clinical trials, is also a core offering in Origin’s digital portfolio allowing secure, two-way communication between the patient and the associated packaging or medical device.

Origin’s team and capacity will continue to grow at Alderley Park over the coming 24 to 36 months, in line with the needs of surrounding partners. Ultimately, Origin’s long-term aim is to become the packaging innovation office for the site, promoting innovative thinking in the community and supporting the next generation of UK pharma talent.

The announcement coincides with Origin welcoming Graham Howieson as a new board member. Graham is a well-known and respected figure in the life science market, with his expertise spanning all aspects of packaging design through to product commercialisation.

Graham is a keen advocate of emerging technology and his appointment will help secure Origin’s long-term position as a market-leading digital packaging partner to the UK and international pharmaceutical industry.

Rich Quelch, Global Head of Marketing at Origin commented:

“Alderley Park was the natural choice for Origin to open its next strategic UK office, helping us to create strong partnerships on the ground with emerging UK pharma start-ups, in addition to our ever-expanding global network of clients.

It’s a fantastic opportunity to support the next generation of UK pharma companies and create accessibility for them to drop in and engage with our packaging technologists.”

Graham Howieson, Head of Innovation & Digital, Origin commented:

“I am extremely pleased to be joining the board of Origin, a company with an outstanding industry-wide reputation for delivering the next generation of packaging solutions.

Origin is now poised for its next stage of growth, propelled by new innovative smart packaging techniques utilising data encryption software and the opening of its brand-new facility at Alderley Park, the largest and best invested life science R&D facilities in the UK.”