New state-of-the-art sterile pharmacy set to transform patient care across region
A new state-of-the-art regional sterile pharmacy has reached structural completion in Southampton, marking a major milestone in the advancement of patient care across the South of England.
As the only facility of its kind in the region, it will play a pivotal role in delivering faster and more personalised treatments at scale to patients in the city and beyond.
Part of University Hospital Southampton (UHS), the pharmacy will supply critical medicines to the hospital and other healthcare providers across the South, with capacity to produce between 600,000 and 800,000 doses annually - benefitting hundreds of thousands of patients.
An aseptic (sterile) pharmacy is a specialised facility that uses advanced technology and techniques to prepare ready-to-administer (RtA) medicines in a highly controlled sterile environment. These include chemotherapy, intravenous antibiotics and nutritional therapies.
By centralising the preparation of these vital treatments, the new hub will significantly expand regional capacity for aseptic products and support initiatives that will enable more patients to receive care in their own homes.
The pharmacy now enters its final testing phase and is expected to begin supplying life-saving medicines to patients at UHS within the next month, ahead of becoming fully operational in 2026.
The unit is located at the Adanac Health and Innovation Campus which is just 2.5 miles from UHS. The building also houses a sterile services department for the Trust.
Other key benefits include the production of individualised therapies tailored to specific patient needs, rapid response and supply chain efficiency, and scalable production capacity.
It is also expected to help reduce the time nurses spend preparing medications at the bedside, ensuring more time for direct patient care.
In addition, with a dedicated advanced-therapy suite, it will play a key role in ensuring UHS is at the forefront of innovative gene therapy medicines and ground breaking clinical trials research.
This development will benefit patients like Roger Daughty, 80, who was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer ten years ago.
Despite an initial prognosis of four to five years, he continues to enjoy a good quality of life thanks to pioneering treatment in a clinical trial at UHS.
“I was nervous at first, but my experience has been unbelievable,” he said. “Before the trial, I needed weekly transfusions and had little energy. Now, I receive the drug monthly and the difference has been transformative.”
There were limited treatment options left for Roger when he was told about the clinical trial.
He added: “I feel better in every respect and I’m grateful this trial was available in Southampton. It’s encouraging to see the NHS investing in medicine, it will give hope to thousands of others who rely on access to medical innovation to improve their lives.”
The milestone was marked last week (Friday, 29 August) with a visit from NHS England’s (NHSE) national medical director Dr Clare Fuller, who was joined by NHSE colleagues David Webb, chief pharmaceutical officer, and Sue Ladds, hospital pharmacy modernisation lead.
The visit was hosted by UHS chief operating officer Andy Hyett, chief pharmacist James Allen and other key staff and pharmacy team members.
They toured the facility, which features pioneering technology such as advanced automated compounding systems and state-of-the-art aseptic isolators that reduce the need for human intervention and maximise the capacity of the unit.
Mr Hyett said: “This new aseptic pharmacy hub represents a ground breaking step forward. As well as serving the needs of UHS patients, this cutting-edge facility will also provide these critical medicines for patients across the South-East region.
“By streamlining and centralising production of these therapies, we are not only enhancing the safety and efficiency of our processes but also freeing up valuable clinical time for our nursing teams to focus on providing exceptional patient care.
“This facility sets a new standard for innovation and collaboration in pharmacy services, and we are proud to be leading the way in advancing healthcare for our region and beyond.”
Mr Allen added: “This is a revolutionary development which will speed up patients’ access to critical medicines, shorten inpatient stays and improve clinical outcomes, so we are extremely excited to be part of this pioneering programme.”
The MHRA-licensed service will operate under strict regulatory controls and adhere to rigorous quality assurance measures, ensuring the highest standards of medicine production.