Covers infrastructure and application managment

Aesica Pharmaceuticals has outsourced its IT operations to BASF IT Services in a three-year contract worth several million euros. 

Based in Cramlington, near Newcastle, Aesica Pharmaceuticals Ltd manufactures a range of ingredients for export to major drug producers across the world.  Its site was first developed by Boots in the early 1980s and acquired by BASF in 1995 prior to a management-led buy-out last year of the company, with 150 employees and an annual turnover of £35 million (50 million euro).   

The services provided by BASF IT Services encompass the network operations and managing of an in-house SAP R/3 system, plus the mail programme and helpdesk. Three BASF IT Services’ consultants will be working directly with the customer. Service Level Agreements (SLAs), have been pre-negotiated and defined between BASF IT Services and Aesica Pharmaceuticals to govern the quality and availability of services provided.

Adam Sims, Finance Director of Aesica Pharmaceuticals said: “We are really pleased to have signed a long term contract to work with BASF IT Services as we see the development of our IT platform as a critical component of our growth in the future and to deliver this growth we need a reputable and reliable partner which we believe we have found in BASF IT Services.”

 The Cramlington site is responsible for the manufacture of a range of active pharmaceutical ingredients from two highly automated computer controlled production plants.  Currently three products are manufactured on the site: two anti-depressants and a non steroidal anti-inflammatory.

“We are delighted that we have been able to convince the new owners of the Cramlington location about our beneficial services,“ explained Wolfgang Erny, Managing Director of BASF IT Services, responsible for the Sales & Delivery Division. “We will implement our know-how in such a way, that IT will be the catalyst for the future success of Aesica .”