In a historic first, our Huddersfield Pharmacy Specials (HPS) team now proudly sit among famous pharmaceutical names such as GSK, AstraZeneca and Pfizer, after developing and releasing their first batch of licenced products for sale.

Head of Quality, Jason Morris, said: “There are stringent regulations controlling the manufacture of medicines to ensure their safety, quality and efficacy. This project has taken six years from concept to a saleable product, which is relatively quick!

“This is a culmination of many years of hard work and has been a team effort involving every function within HPS, from development and registration of the product, the quality control of the raw materials and finished product, manufacture, filling and packing by our production teams, storage and distribution by our warehouse team, not to mention all the other support functions, and finally released to the market.

“Although this is a relatively simple product, this is the first in a line of projects and is a significant milestone for us, setting the foundations of our future.

HPS worked in partnership with Northumbria Pharma on Sodium Citrate, an antacid designed to be used as part of the preparation for a caesarean section. Northumbria Pharma have wide expertise in the regulatory side of licencing medicines, whilst HPS have the technical experience in manufacturing in their approved facilities adjacent to Acre Mills.

Jason is pictured below signing the release of the first batch as HPS's Qualified Person. This means he ensures the quality and safety of the medicine and is legally responsible for the batch of medicine placed on the market.

HPS’s Managing Director, Burrinder Grewal, said: “Licensing and commercialising medicines for widespread use is an important part of our strategy, so this milestone is important and helps validate our plans going forward; it’s a proud moment for all at HPS.”