Northern Ireland-based Sepha has secured a six-figure deal that initially involves forming, sealing and leak testing 50,000 blister packs containing Aquatest’s active ingredients in a newly-built ‘clean lab’ at its County Down site.

Thom Brain, Aquatest project manager (right), said: “Sepha’s expertise and their engagement with the project have ensured that we are able to develop a bespoke pack with all the special features that are required for it to perform effectively within the device.”

Investment in ‘clean lab’

Sepha chief executive John Haran (left), said:  “We are delighted that our leading technologies have been chosen to ensure that this very significant and high profile project achieves maximum success.

“The capital investment in additional facilities and the creation of additional employment for a laboratory technician will enable us to actively exploit this niche with other companies who are looking for a solution to high quality, short-run blister packaging, and integrity testing.”

Under the terms of the grant, the University of Bristol has set up an international multidisciplinary consortium, including the Aquaya Institute, the Health Protection Agency, Path and the universities of Cape Town, North Carolina, Southampton and Surrey.

Water-borne disease is estimated to kill 1.8 million deaths a year, of which 1.5m are children under five, according to the World Health Organisation.