April 2016

Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK

Life sciences laboratory offsets gender bias

Rapidly expanding ALS Pharmaceutical, one the UK's leading providers of pharmaceutical testing, appears to be offsetting the bias in jobs in science, where women are vastly under-represented.

Nationally, STEM jobs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) have less than 15% of women in post, according to The Wise Campaign, which aims to draw in 1 million more women into the sector.

"We not only have an 80-20 staff ratio in favour of women, but also most of the senior positions are filled by women here at Ely." Comments Sharon Hanly, General Manager of ALS Pharmaceutical, and who herself worked her way up to a senior management position from a laboratory technician post. "We employ almost 40 experienced and qualified scientists who perform chemical and microbiological testing to help ensure that both over-the-counter and prescription medicines, vitamin supplements and cosmetics meet quality standards."

Last month, one of their female laboratory technicians, Sema Ozbeck, 20, won the College of West Anglia's Science Apprentice of the Year.

Another senior manager, Constance Okoye began working for ALS 10 years ago as a scientific assistant and is now their Business Liaison Manager, helping to bridge any gaps between the scientists and their non-scientific customers. "I've always wanted to be a scientist." She says. "In fact, I attended a special science school in Nigeria for girls no less, so I've never really understood why science is not thought of as a natural career choice for women. After all, you need to show passion and commitment to finishing tasks, you are ultimately helping people, making a positive difference to our world, and you have to multi-task!"

ALS Pharmaceutical is based at Ely, Cambridgeshire, part of the biotechnology cluster in the region, and has just received an injection of £2 million from its parent company, ALS Global, that will quadruple its current microbiology facilities.

Sharon Hanly explains: "The expanded facilities will include a state of the art HEPA filtered laboratory, purpose-built, walk-in chambers for storage stability trials and increased batch release testing capabilities. We're looking forward to the official opening of the facilities this September, and we're taking on a new apprentice, also female, after the successful experience we've had with Sema."

--Ends--

For more information:

Call Juliet Machan Tel: +44 7768 283074

www.als-testing.co.uk/services/pharmaceuticaltesting/

https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/resources/2015/09/women-in-the-stem-workforce

key words/tag: women in science, STEM jobs, batch release testing, storage stability trials, good manufacturing practice (GMP), MHRA inspected, ALS Pharmaceutical, Ely, biotech.

About ALS Pharmaceutical:

ALS Food and Pharmaceutical is one of the leading providers of pharmaceutical testing in the UK and Ireland. They offer a comprehensive range of services at their dedicated GMP compliant laboratory located in Ely, Cambridgeshire. Performing chemical and microbiological testing of raw materials, API's, finished products and Pharmaceutical & NHS waters (to CFPP & HTM guidelines), they also provide storage stability trials, bioburden, pathogen and disinfectant testing, as well as preservative efficacy tests. They also test the quality and standards of veterinary medicines.http://www.als-testing.co.uk/services/pharmaceuticaltesting/