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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 12, 2003 |
For more information please contact: Jack Healy MassMEP Tel: 508-831-7020 Email: jackh@massmep.org |
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CAMBRIDGE, MA - Acambis, a world leader in the development of vaccines against infectious diseases, with facilities in Cambridge, UK and locally in Cambridge and Canton, recently was awarded a contract to develop smallpox vaccines for the United States government. The United States is aiming to produce a large enough stockpile of smallpox vaccine to vaccinate everyone in the country in the event of a smallpox outbreak and has contracted Acambis to produce 209 million doses for the stockpile. Under strict FDA requirements, and faced with the need to consolidate vital financial software for the three locations, operations management from the Canton facility contacted the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP) for assistance in selecting an information system to manage materials for smallpox vaccination production. "During the review process we discovered that two of the Acambis locations were running different Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) financial software programs and each of them was independently working on selecting a centralized program," said Rosemary Presnar, Lead Project Manager for the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership. "We immediately recommended that they centralize the selection process to control costs and system selection activities." Acambis drew on the expertise of the MassMEP and Presnar’s past experience of coordinating and facilitating similar programs to help select the best software for its needs. Presnar coached the Acambis Selection Team through an extensive product demonstration and selection phase that included over a dozen ERP suppliers, eventually choosing Ross Systems, Inc. based in Atlanta. "Acambis came to us specifically because our software manages the manufacturing process to a level required by the biotechnology industry and the U.S. government," said J. Patrick Tinley, Chairman and CEO of Ross Systems. "Our iRenaissance solution manages operational material for complete lot genealogy, expiration date management, attribute tracking, formulation and recipe management, and integrated quality control. Acambis recognized the importance of Ross’ experience in Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology manufacturing and its ability to account for process-based costing for government reporting in a validated, FDA compliant environment." To help ease the transition process, Presnar worked closely with Acambis and Ross throughout the implementation of the new software system. In addition to meeting the strict government requirements for production of the smallpox vaccine, the new system has helped ease the flow of information between the three Acambis facilities, cut down on paperwork and eliminated data entry points, contributing to a long-term saving in man hours. "Selecting enterprise-wide software is not an everyday occurrence for any organization, neither is implementing it across three sites in two continents," said Lindy Standing, Corporate ERP Project Manager. "MassMEP knew exactly the right path to take and the right questions to ask for us to do both successfully. Their expertise in software systems and manufacturing was impressive, as was their project management skills. I am indebted." MassMEP is an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology under the U.S. Department of Commerce. The national MEP is a network of manufacturing extension centers that provide business and technical assistance to smaller manufacturers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Through MEP, manufacturers have access to more than 2,000 manufacturing and business "coaches" whose job is to help firms make changes that lead to greater productivity, increased profits and enhanced global competitiveness. For more information on the services MassMEP project managers provide, contact the Worcester office at (508) 831-7020. |
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