Contamination-control conferences target Brazil, Puerto Rico markets

07/01/2005

BY STEVE SMITH

NASHUA, NH-Dr. Hans Schicht, internationally recognized contamination-control expert, will keynote two day-long CleanRooms conferences this fall for the Latin American and Caribbean markets. CleanRooms Brazil will be held November 14 in São Paulo, while CleanRooms Puerto Rico will take place November 17 in San Juan.

“This is an exciting opportunity for our industry to serve two of the world’s fastest growing markets,” says Jim Enos, CleanRooms Group Publishing Director. “As the industry’s leading dedicated contamination-control publication, CleanRooms is sponsoring these conferences to help meet the unique development and production needs of pharmaceutical companies doing business in Puerto Rico and Brazil.”

Dr. Schicht, whose sessions at this year’s CleanRooms Contamination Control Technology Conference and Exhibition in Boston attracted capacity audiences, offers industry expertise on such issues as cleanroom technology fundamentals, design and construction considerations, regulatory guidance, and facility qualification and monitoring.

Brazil is the 11th largest pharmaceutical market in the world, with rapid growth especially over the last 15 years. According to research conducted by International Business Strategies (www.internationalbusinessstrategies.com), there were 76 biotechnology manufacturers in 1993, but by 2001, that number had increased to more than 350. The country has attracted several multinational pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, and Sanofi-Aventis. A recent report by Frost & Sullivan (www.frost.com) finds that Brazil is the world’s 10th largest market for pharmaceuticals, and second largest in Latin America after Mexico. Meanwhile, the Biominas Foundation is one of several successful biotech incubators in Brazil.

Puerto Rico has long been a hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing, with its economy strongly oriented toward advanced manufacturing. Sixteen of the top 20 pharmaceuticals sold in the U.S. are manufactured in Puerto Rico by such leading companies as Amgen, Ortho, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Eli Lilly. In 2003, the island was the world’s largest international shipper of pharmaceutical products, with 24.5 percent share of total shipments.

Puerto Rico is also being tabbed as a prime location for biopharmaceutical development, with a 17,000-square-foot biotech pilot plant proposed for Joyuda that could be operational as early as first quarter 2006.

Both CleanRooms Brazil and Puerto Rico will feature conferences throughout the day plus industry exhibits. CleanRooms Puerto Rico will also feature technical tours of local manufacturing facilities the day after the conference. For more information, visit: www.cleanrooms.com III