Medical company Panacea Pharma Projects ('PPP') has moved to new premises in Santon and has plans to expand its business which will create new jobs.
The firm is a specialist in pharmacovigilance and works for pharmaceutical companies to detect and assess any safety concerns which may relate to prescription drugs. Formerly based in Douglas, their new site is at Ballastrang Farm in Santon.
Five staff are currently employed at the new premises but PPP hopes to expand its business and create new jobs over the next 12 to 18 months.
The company has been in the Isle of Man for just over a year and is the only Island-based company specialising in pharmacovigilance.
PPP’s work involves monitoring potential long term and short term side effects of medicines which it does by gathering data from a wide range of sources across the world.
This data is then used to highlight any concerns about the safety of particular drugs or medicines and manufacturers can then analyse data to decide whether recalls of drugs are necessary.
PPP’s work also involves making sure that drug manufacturers do not infringe patent restrictions on trademarked products. The company has invested ?100,000 in specialist industry software for its database, in all the company has invested a total of ?200,000 in its business.
PPP has also recruited Graeme Ladds as a Qualified Person, this is a legal obligation in the industry requiring an individual with expert knowledge in the field of drug safety.
Mr Ladds, who works for PPP as a consultant, is highly regarded in the industry and is an adviser to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which oversees safety in the UK pharmaceutical industry.
"We are delighted to move to new our new home and are hoping to expand our business over the next year or so," said Karen Schrauwen, pharmacovigilance specialist and team leader.
"Pharmacovigilance is a fast growing industry and we aim to build on our current position within this sector."
Pictured: (Back, l-r) Joanne Gray and Nikki Cleator; (Front, l-r) Karen Schrauwen and Lorraine Karran.
