News Article

Quantum Specials, a unique company that provides pharmacies with a comprehensive, high-quality range of specialised medicines, has recently enjoyed rapid growth with help from Cels, the organisation driving the healthcare economy in North East England.

The pharmaceutical firm, based in Burnopfield near Stanley, has achieved a turnover of £15m, which is expected to rise to £20m by 2009 -10, with the firm’s labour force of 100 also set to increase by 25 per cent.

Quantum Specials, which started trading back in February 2005, manufactures and rapidly supplies one-off specialised medicines to High Street pharmacies and dispensing doctors for patients who require special prescriptions, delivering the medicines within 24 hours of an order.

As a member of the Cels Healthcare Network, a unique membership organisation open to all healthcare companies in North East England - created to support, strengthen and grow the region's healthcare sector - Quantum has benefited from a wide number of support services.

Alison Norman, Technical Director at Quantum Specials, said, “Cels has provided project support which has enabled us to extend some of our very short dated medicines to much more user-friendly expiry dates. This assists with logistics in supplying new markets such as Eire, and out of town shopping centres where patients may take a few days more to collect medicines.

We’ve had an exciting start to 2008 with the opening of our new state-of-the-art clean rooms at our Burnopfield site by HRH Princess Anne.”

Mike Asher, CEO at Cels, said “Quantum Special is yet another excellent example of a North East healthcare company flourishing in the sector.  Cels is focused on creating an environment where commercial ideas can be recognised and new relationships forged. This provides the perfect forum for supporting regional healthcare companies’ growth.”

Quantum Specials creates ‘one-off’ products in response to special patient prescriptions. This involves the compounding skills once used in the Chemists back shop such as filling capsules by hand, using a pestle and mortar to make oral suspensions and mixing creams and ointments on a tile. Quantum combines these techniques with modern lean manufacturing practice to produce tens of thousands of products, each tailored to the individual needs of the patient. 

The company has also benefited from assistance provided by SEMTA who supported the training of new Pharmacy Technicians and Managers.

Cels Healthcare Network is part-financed through the European Regional Development Fund.