Alcami And The University of North Carolina - Wilmington Announce Academic Partnership

WILMINGTON, N.C., July 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Alcami Corporation, a leading provider of custom development and manufacturing services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, today announced an academic partnership with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). Since July 2016, the university and privately held pharma and biotechnology company have collaborated to develop two courses designed to enhance workforce education and prepare students for a career in pharmaceutical sciences.

Beginning in the spring of 2017, UNCW students had the opportunity to take an elective course co-taught by the Alcami team, "Pharmaceutical Drug Development and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) of Medicinal Products for Human and Veterinary Use." A group of full-time Alcami employees from various functional areas, such as manufacturing, packaging, quality and laboratory operations, team-taught the lecture-based course. This course was designed to provide students with an overview of the drug development process from concept to commercialization, focusing specifically on current good manufacturing practices (cGMP). At the same time, students were introduced to available career opportunities and prepared for initiating a career in science, business or other roles within the pharmaceutical industry or related medical fields.

"This type of collaborative program is a first for Alcami, and we are excited and encouraged about the high level of interest and positive feedback that we have received," says Dr. Stephan Kutzer, Ph.D., Alcami President and CEO. "We are committed to building and maintaining strong relationships within the communities in which we operate, and with such a highly regarded university in our own backyard, we are privileged to have the opportunity to share our expertise with the university's students. We look forward to continuing this partnership this upcoming fall." 

A second laboratory-based course will be taught this fall at UNCW's state-of-the-art marine biology center (MARBIONC). The Alcami GMP Training Lab will facilitate this course offering by focusing on the application of cGMPs in a drug development and testing laboratory. 

"We are excited to have Alcami as one of the primary tenants in the MARBIONC building," said Dr. Ron Vetter, UNCW's Associate Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School. "These private and public partnerships that focus on biotechnology, analytical sciences, and pharmaceutical research and development are just the kind of activities we envisioned for the facility when it was built."

UNCW and Alcami continue to discuss ways to grow and expand the relationship, including adding more internship opportunities for students, exploring collaborative research projects, and establishing innovative platform technologies for the development and manufacturing of Biologics. Alcami has over 20 years of experience in biotherapeutic analytical development to share with UNCW students. Alcami scientists are equipped with the technology and armed with the expertise to support a wide variety of biotherapeutic products, including peptides, proteins, antibodies, antibody drug conjugates (ADC), and cell and gene therapies.

ABOUT ALCAMI

Alcami is a world-class contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with executive offices in Wilmington and Durham, North Carolina. With over 1,000 employees operating at seven sites globally, Alcami provides customizable and innovative services to small and mid-size pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies by offering individualized and integrated services across multiple areas. We connect our clients with innovative solutions for API development and manufacturing, solid-state chemistry, formulation development, analytical development and testing services, clinical and commercial finished dosage form manufacturing (oral solid dose and parenteral), packaging, and stability services. For more information, please visit www.alcaminow.com.

ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA WILMINGTON

The University of North Carolina Wilmington, the state's coastal university, is dedicated to learning through the integration of teaching and mentoring with research and service. Guided by our Strategic Plan, the university is committed to nurturing a campus culture that reflects its values of diversity and globalization, ethics and integrity, and excellence and innovation. A public institution with nearly 16,000 students, the university is focused on supporting and enhancing the student-centered learning experience that has been a hallmark since its founding in 1947. UNCW offers an array of programs at the baccalaureate and master's levels, and doctoral programs in marine biology, educational leadership, psychology and nursing practice.

CONTACT: CONTACT ALCAMI, Catherine Hanley, Sr. Director, Marketing & Corporate Communications, +1 910.254.7273, catherine.hanley@alcaminow.com, www.alcaminow.com, CONTACT UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA WILMINGTON, Media contact: CHRISTINA SCHECHTMAN, OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY RELATIONS, schechtmanc@uncw.edu / 910.962-3080

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SOURCE Alcami Corporation