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From left, Steven S. Reed, chair of the UK Board of Trustees, UK President Lee T. Todd Jr., Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher, and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Mayor Teresa Ann Isaac at the Center for Pharmaceutical Science and Technology groundbreaking at the UK Coldstream Research Campus.

Over the years, researchers at the CPST have completed more than 200 projects and grants, taking new discoveries from “the bench to the bedside” by developing and manufacturing a significant number of pharmaceutical products for human testing. The center conducts research, develops and manufactures products for university researchers, biotech companies, pharmaceutical companies, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 15, 2003) -- Ground was broken today for the new University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy’s Center for Pharmaceutical Science and Technology (CPST) at UK’s Coldstream Research Campus. Construction of the 20,000-square-foot building is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2005 at an estimated cost of $12 million. When completed, it will be the largest sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in the state and the cornerstone for additional expansion at the UK Coldstream Research Campus.

College of Pharmacy researchers will continue to develop and produce non-sterile pharmaceutical products such as drug tablets and capsules at the existing 5,000-square-foot CPST facility, located within the UK College of Pharmacy building on Rose Street in Lexington. Researchers at the new Coldstream facility will develop and manufacture sterile pharmaceutical products that will be used in human clinical research studies, including vaccines, freeze-dried products, and other drugs that can be injected.

The two facilities combined will provide 25,000 square feet of space for pharmaceutical research, development and manufacturing at UK, a significant advancement for Kentucky’s only college of pharmacy, which is ranked the number three pharmacy school in the nation.

CPST was originally funded in 1986 by UK as a Center of Excellence to support research in the areas of drug development and manufacturing. The center’s current focus is on formulation and the development of pharmaceutical testing methods and in the manufacturing of drug products.

Over the years, researchers at the CPST have completed more than 200 projects and grants, taking new discoveries from “the bench to the bedside” by developing and manufacturing a significant number of pharmaceutical products for human testing. The center conducts research, develops and manufactures products for university researchers, biotech companies, pharmaceutical companies, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. said the new facility will enhance economic growth in the state by creating jobs and attracting new industries, and is vitally important not only to UK’s Coldstream Research Campus, but to the pharmaceutical industry as well. “The new Center for Pharmaceutical Science and Technology is just the beginning,” said Todd. “The research at this facility will create well-paying, knowledge-based employment for Kentuckians. Locating this state-of-the-art ‘factory of the future’ at Coldstream is visible proof of the institution’s commitment to economic development in the city, region and state.”

Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher and Lexington Mayor Teresa Ann Isaac agreed with Todd’s assessment of the impact the CPST will have in the Commonwealth.

“The type of industries that the CPST will attract will provide much needed diversification for Kentucky’s economy, especially the new economy,” said Fletcher. It is the cornerstone of the type of enterprises we want in Kentucky and especially at the University of Kentucky on this research campus.”

Fletcher said Kentucky needs more pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies to grow the new economy in the state. “We need to work to keep our high-tech companies in Kentucky and to attract more of these industries to the state, and work to secure a federal research lab,” Fletcher said.

“This project is an excellent example of how UK is bringing its academic resources to the community to foster economic growth and improve the lives of those who live in Lexington and the surrounding area,” said Isaac. “The expanded CPST will provide more educational opportunities for students who choose to make their home in Lexington during their college years.”

The new, high-tech facility will offer UK students interested in learning how drugs are developed and manufactured valuable educational opportunities.

“This facility will provide unique experiences for our students usually found only in a corporate environment,” said Kenneth B. Roberts, dean, UK College of Pharmacy. “The center also will provide the opportunity for UK graduates and others to put their skills to work right here at home.”

The UK College of Pharmacy is one of only two colleges in the United States to have a manufacturing facility of this kind. The other college is the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy.

Registered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the CPST adheres to Good Manufacturing Practices, a quality system used by pharmaceutical, medical device and food manufacturers to ensure that products are safe, pure and effective.

The CPST is a past recipient of a federally sponsored pharmaceutical development and manufacturing contract through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), an agency that researches drug abuse and distributes information in an effort to improve drug policy and to develop products to treat drug abuse. NIDA is part of the National Institutes of Health.

For more information about research at UK, visit www.rgs.uky.edu/researchatuk.html.