Wickham Laboratories at Hoeford Point

Since our last newsletter update in the new year, time has flown by here at Wickham Laboratories.  January saw us gearing up ready to move the first department as well as ensuring computers, networks, telephones and servers would operate as intended at the new site.  Much of the laboratory areas had by this time been completed and treated to their deep clean.  Thereafter we were busy qualifying laboratory environments, water systems, autoclaves and equipment in preparation for the transfer of work.




Pharmaceutical Microbiology Move
 
The first department to be moved was our Validations section which, among other things, conducts method validations, preservative efficacy and log reduction testing, identifications, media testing and biological indicator enumeration.  The move went ahead as planned in mid February and is now fully up and running with many projects already in hand and making the most of our new laboratory space.  Media Preparation has also been working hard to prepare stocks of media for the new site, with staff working between sites to maintain media stocks at both locations. 
 Our QC Microbiology department, responsible for enumeration and absence of specified organisms testing, bioburden testing, potable water analysis and incubation/enumeration of environmental plates moved two weeks later at the end of February, taking incubators and laminar flow cabinets with them.  Some of these items were too big to fit in the passenger lift and so were lifted up to the second floor by fork lift.  All were then qualified before the laboratory began routine testing from 29th February 2012.
 



Update on other departments
 
Including administration functions, more than half of our staff have now relocated to Gosport with Food Services the latest to move.  UKAS (regulatory authority for our food testing work) visited Gosport in February to review the facilities and assess our preparations for managing the move to ensure it would remain compliant to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025.  Their feedback was positive and indicated accreditation could be transferred to the new site to coincide with the moving of Food Services which moved over to the new site this week.
 
Sterility, Bacterial Endotoxin and Cytotoxicity remain at Wickham for the time being.  The clean room complex at Hoeford Point requires some rewiring of the electrics and this is being done as quickly as possible so our timetable for this move has slipped a little.  Nevertheless, the staff of these departments are keen to get their move underway and qualification protocols for facilities and isolators are in place and ready to be put into practice.  We expect the move of this final microbiology department to be commence in mid April and to be completed by June. 
 



Toxicology trials have been successfully completed 
 
The relocation of our microbiology functions are progressing well.  Equally so is our toxicology unit.  The conversion of existing facilities to meet the needs of our toxicology department has been handled by a specialist contractor and this has now been completed.  Appropriate trials of temperature, humidity and lighting systems have been successfully completed and a clean down is now underway.  We intend to complete the commissioning of the department very shortly and will be notifying customers as and when we intend to move their testing across to this unit.
 

 

Customer Audits
 
We are busy scheduling audits of our new facility with customers. If you would like to discuss working with Wickham Laboratories, we would be delighted to invite you to our new facilities; please contact a microbiology business manager to discuss your requirements. 


Please make sure you update you records for our new address and contact numbers.
 
Telephone:	 +44 (0)1329 226600
Fax :          +44 (0)1329 226688
 
Address:  	Wickham Laboratories Limited, 
	        Hoeford Point,  
	        Barwell Lane, 
	        Gosport, 
	        Hampshire, 
                         PO13 0AU
	        England

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