by Charlie Swan, Cohort 5 

Cohort 5 students were pleased to be invited to visit the AstraZeneca site in Macclesfield and learn more about the sustainability challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry.

The day began with an engaging group activity that told the story of drug development; from inception in the lab, through the pre-clinical stages and the multiple rounds of clinical trials, all the way to the regulatory phase and finally taking the drug to the market. A journey of whittling down hundreds of thousands of compounds, to a final one.

After the group activity, we learned more about the cost implications of drug development. This also illustrated the impact of late-stage clinical failure, which results in high costs to the pharmaceutical companies.  We also heard a presentation on process analytical technology (PAT), an essential area that allows in-situ monitoring of industry scale reactions - ensuring safety and consistency between drug products.

After lunch, we donned our hard hats and protective clothing as we were given a tour of the pilot scale plant, an eye-opening experience for many. It allowed us to see the sheer output of product required for various stages of clinical trials – with reactor vessels varying from 1000 – 6000L, and tens of thousands of litres of solvent being delivered weekly when operational.

After removing our safety equipment, we returned to the warmth and comfort of the chemical development building. The final session of the day involved presentations from the Associate Director, Gair Ford and Team Manager, Stephen Raw on previous ventures of AstraZeneca, including the story of the breakthrough oncology drug Tagrisso. To this day, Tagrisso remains a medicine with one of the fastest development programmes in history. 

The day offered an excellent opportunity to see the diverse array of careers available for chemists and engineers, providing an insight into the work that AstraZeneca perform and the challenges that may arise within the pharmaceuticals industry. It gave all students the opportunity to think about the career paths that may be available to them, and how they can use their knowledge of sustainable chemistry to benefit others.

Comments from attending students included:

“It was really interesting to see how the chemical process goes from lab-scale discovery to plant-scale manufacture, and be able to see the industry facilities in-person” – Lydia Barnes

“A great introduction to how drug development and discovery actually happens in the pharmaceuticals industry, and a great insight into the jobs available for us as chemists” – Aoife Quinlivan