CBIA announces program to help Connecticut bioscience companies

UConn developing Good Manufacturing Practices certificate program

Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are among the fastest-growing industries in Connecticut, yet they are having difficulty finding qualified workers with the right technological and scientific skills to fill high-demand, high-wage jobs.

To address that problem, CBIA, Connecticut United for Research Excellence (CURE), CuraGen Corp. and the University of Connecticut have been working together to establish a cutting-edge graduate certificate program in Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for the bioscience industry. This program will enable students and current workers in the industry to gain the knowledge and skills needed for biotech and pharmaceutical careers.

The GMP program was developed after CuraGen, a leading genomics-based pharmaceutical company in New Haven, approached CBIA and CURE for help in meeting its workforce needs as it prepares for biologics manufacturing. That change means the company will need people knowledgeable in manufacturing and bringing a biological product to market under FDA approval.

CBIA turned to UConn to create the Good Manufacturing Practices program, which UConn will offer through its Professional Science Master’s program.

The GMP program is designed for current industry employees as well as for students who intend to pursue bioscience careers. It consists of a series of four, three-credit courses: regulatory issues; quality assurance and control; GMP facility design, construction and validation; and good manufacturing practices as defined by the industry’s regulatory agencies. Students who complete the four classes will be able to elect to receive a graduate certificate or apply the credits toward a master’s degree in the PSM program in applied genomics or microbial systems analysis.

The first course, “Regulatory Issues in Biotechnology,” started May 14 and is being held on six Saturdays.

CBIA will provide partial tuition support for qualified students and current employees of bioscience and pharmaceutical companies. This tuition assistance is made possible through a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to address specific educational and training needs of the bioscience industry.

“The goal of the program is to sustain a flow of skilled scientists from universities to work in the bioscience and biomedical industries while reducing the industries’ reliance on foreign H-1B visa workers,” says Judy Resnick, CBIA director of workforce development and training.

For more information about the GMP program, send e-mail to CBIA’s Amy Doherty or call her at 860-244-1900.