PBN MANUFACTURING AWARDS 2020 | Collaboration in Manufacturing: Amgen Inc.
COLLABORATION IS ONE aspect of Amgen Inc.’s corporate strategy. The biotechnology company forges partnerships throughout Rhode Island, including with government, academia, suppliers and other businesses.
“Everything in Rhode Island is so close and so well-connected, it’s different from anywhere else in the United States,” Rhode Island Vice President of Site Operations Thomas Seewoester said. “When the right minds come together, it forms this unique environment of strong collaboration.”
One of Amgen’s most comprehensive collaborations is the Biotech Pathways program. Amgen partners with Rhode Island high schools, trade schools, colleges and universities to introduce students to biotechnology as a career, and hopefully attract new talent.
Twenty-four local high schools participate in the Amgen Biotechnology Experience program. Teachers are trained at the University of Rhode Island to teach a six-week biotechnology course, using supplies and equipment that Amgen provides for free. Amgen also supports the biotechnology program at the New England Institute of Technology and helped design Westerly Education Center’s Process Technology Certification program. The course includes a tour of Amgen’s plant in West Greenwich.
“Our role in the Pathways program is to play a part in education and reinforce science in the state while providing support and setting schools and colleges up for success,” said Tara Urban, Amgen’s senior manager of corporate affairs.
Educational collaborations are also important for Amgen’s new and existing employees. Amgen partners with URI’s Pharmaceutical Development Institute to provide a three-day introduction to a biotechnology course for new Amgen hires. The company also plans to offer a course in sanitation and environmental monitoring. For existing employees, Amgen partners with the Community College of Rhode Island to offer classes in data literacy, technical writing, management development and more.
Collaboration with suppliers is also important. Through its Supplier Relationship Excellence program, Amgen engages with about 10 of its largest raw-material suppliers around the world. There’s a benefit for Amgen – improving quality of materials and boosting reliability – and for suppliers. Amgen will often serve as a pilot tester for new products that suppliers hope to bring to market.
“The main premise is to go beyond the transactional to create a win-win situation for both companies,” Seewoester said. “It’s moving from a technical relationship to a very strategic relationship.”
Amgen’s West Greenwich manufacturing plant is one of the company’s most impressive operations, as well. The facility received the company’s Best Plant Award four times – more than any other Amgen plant. It also produced 2.2 metric tons of biologic products last year alone, including Enbrel and several other medications.
“We have a decadelong track record of strong, patient-centered delivery of drugs,” Seewoester said. “It’s unmatched in the industry.”
But perhaps the biggest recent collaboration for Amgen is with the construction of its next-generation biomanufacturing plant, the first of its kind in the U.S. It involved working closely with union and contract workers to stick to a tight construction schedule. The new plant, known as AR30, will be one-quarter of the size of Amgen’s existing facility in West Greenwich, yet will double Amgen’s output. The smaller size will allow Amgen to reduce costs while improving flexibility and speed.
The new plant, which will add 150 jobs, is also more sustainable. Seewoester said it will emit 75% less carbon dioxide than a traditional plant and use 80% less energy and water.
“The size, complexity, construction effort and technology – there’s no other like it in the United States,” Seewoester said. “The only other one in the world is in Singapore. Some companies have copied elements of it, but no company has the complexity of it.”
COVID-19 UPDATE
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Amgen Inc. suspended its attendance at medical congresses, conferences and other large events, as well as suspended international business travel and limited travel within the U.S. It has also provided its employees, including approximately 400 in Rhode Island, assistance for working from home, including $250 credits to all staff to set up their offices at home and $50 monthly credits to pay for internet, Amgen Senior Manager of Corporate Affairs Tara Urban said.
Manufacturing operations have not been impacted by the pandemic and are “still on track,” Urban said. The biomedical company did increase safety protocols to protect the approximately 550 employees on-site. Amgen instituted thermal screening to detect fevers and provided employees their own thermometers to monitor temperatures at home before working on-site, Urban said.
Masks are also provided throughout the day and social distancing is “strictly enforced,” Urban said, adding daily contact tracing is “encouraged.”
