PHSS News | Open Access | Published October 2024

PHSS News

Heading into the last quarter of 2024, we were delighted with the attendance and success of the Annual Conference.

This year’s event was held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel Oxford on 11th September.  For 2024 we re-introduced a facility tour and would like to say huge thank you to the team at Oxford Biomedica for supporting this and providing all attendees with such an insightful tour. This was very well received by everyone.  

The conference itself was attended by around 90 delegates. As always at the conference we took time to recognise the high achievers with our Student Awards. This year’s recipient was Nimesh Khakhkhar. Nimesh was one of the only 2 first class students in his UCL cohort and  was the first one to become QP from his cohort after passing the QP VIVA.

We started the presentations with a keynote from Graham Carroll at MHRA discussing the importance of collaboration to support Global compliance and QRM. Graham shared real life RNLI experiences to demonstrate how impactful collaboration can be with achieving positive outcomes.

We then heard from Phil Rose, Rose Pharma Consulting Ltd  on “Can the Pharma Industry manage the risk of outsourcing”, highlighting understanding what is driving outsourcing,  what you know and more importantly what you don’t. Always consider the patient risk, this is most important.

Next, Tracy Moore from TM Pharma Group discussed QRM and Aseptic Processing, with design being the basis for everything and having cross-functional input. Tracy also discussed the importance of scoring in risk assessment and what the associated meaning is—what actions do they drive?  

Prior to lunch, Jim Filer, from  Quality BluePrint Ltd, spoke about the of Cost of Poor Quality and understanding the true cost associated with decisions, highlighting all aspects of where and how costs are incurred. Good example using an iceberg for perspective.

After lunch, Gavin Wadsworth from WQ Ltd talked about Invisible Air Flow and Airflow Visualisation, sharing different terms and methods regarding what visualisation is showing us, together with a good guide on do’s and don’ts.

Simon Tebb from TSI  shared Real-world applications of biofluorescent particle counting, discussing the approach taken and considerations for new technologies.

Jon Halling from Catapult and Alf Penfold from PM Group gave a joint presentation on Accommodating Multiple ATMP Modalities within the same facility. Alf shared the theory, and Jon discussed the approach in practice.

The day's final presentation was from  Austin Lock at PM Group, sharing insights on new developments of a modular aseptic robotic technology platform in a room isolator. Highlighting issues affecting the industry and possible solutions.

The day concluded with a panel discussion led by James Drinkwater, which pulled together questions from the day.

In summary, the Annual  Conference provided an engaging day, where all speakers provided practical guidance to delegates. It was often a very thought-provoking presentation, with many speakers using real-life examples to give context on challenges and potential solutions.  All speakers highlighted the importance of understanding the risks, knowledge, and expertise. Do you know what you need? Together with the key considerations for managing risk.

 As always, thank you to our event and lunch sponsors and our exhibitors, without whom we could not bring this event to the delegates.

Next on the 2024 Calendar is the QP Forum in USK on 7th November; places are still available to book.https://www.phss.co.uk/events/

We have already started planning for 2025, and we have some Important dates for the diary (see below).

Keep connected via social media https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharmaceutical-healthcare-sciences-society/ to receive further updates and event details.

• Aseptic Workshop 25th/26th March 2025

• Sterile Product Manufacture Conference 10/11th June 2025

• Annual Conference – 2nd Week of September 2025

• QP Forum – 6th November 2025

Thank you to all our valued members, partners, and industry collaborations for your invaluable support. 

Jenni Tranter,

PHSS Chair

Oct 2024