EXCLUSIVE: SGS Life Science Services Will Double Headcount in Shanghai, EVP Tells BioSpace

EXCLUSIVE: SGS Will Double Headcount in Shanghai, CEO Tells BioSpace
June 25, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor

SGS Life Science Services (SGSN)’s new laboratory in a Shanghai will almost double its staff to 135 by the end of 2015, the company’s executive vice president told BioSpace Thursday.

The number of workers at the Shanghai facility has grown from 74 in 2014, to a current headcount of 120, with 135 due to be signed by the end of 2015. SGS is one of the world’s largest inspection, verification, testing and certification companies.

Zoltan Szabo, acting executive vice president, for Life Science Services at SGS, said in an interview that the new 3,200-square-meter site in Shanghai is a sign of the company’s latest commitment to stocking state-of-the-art equipment. SGS also recently announced it would expand another site in the Parisian suburb of Villeneuve LaGarenne

“The recent developments in our laboratories in Villeneuve LaGarenne and Shanghai reflect our strategy and commitment to the market,” Szabo told BioSpace. “Namely, this involves ensuring state of the art facilities by upgrading the offering for quality control testing of small molecule drugs.

Both sites will allow the company to offer new services via a compound laboratory designed to test products such as antibodies and hormones. While the testing of these compounds involves physical and chemical analyses, based upon pharmacopeia methods and/or client methods, greater controls are implemented to avoid cross contamination.

It will also allow SGS to grab market share in areas of production where it had not previously had much of a presence, Szabo told BioSpace. The Shanghai campus will have new office space, as well as a drug compatibility study lab designed to meet regulatory requirements.

“Additionally, this also includes expanding our portfolio of services at our sites to address the growing biologics market,” he said.

SGS will now offer services in Shanghai that include cytotoxicity, cell-based assay, endotoxin and ELISA testing.

“The plans for investment and expansion at the Shanghai facility that we originally announced in July 2014 have been superseded by demand from international and domestic customers, particularly in the Extractables and Leachables testing market” said Andy Yi, general manager, SGS Life Science Services, Shanghai.

SGS has 18 laboratories offering contract analytical and bioanalytical services to most of the top 10 largest biotech and biopharmas, with sites in North America, Europe and Asia. It has more than 80,000 employees at 1,650 offices and laboratories globally.

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognised as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 80,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,650 offices and laboratories around the world.


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