Telstar completes the expansion of Merck’s biotechnological manufacturing plant in Madrid

Merck has completed the enlargement of its facilities in Tres Cantos, Madrid, where the German company aims to increase the production of recombinant growth hormone (r-hGH) by 50% (available under the commercial brand Saizen). The biotechnological plant in Madrid produces 100% of the group's growth hormone.

The complete execution of the project, developed under the EPCM (Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management) contract model, has been carried out by Telstar. The company has developed the basic and detailed global engineering for the production area with its pharmaceutical and industrial services and the new office building, as well as purchase management, project and site management, including construction supervision.

The scope of the project has involved construction of office and auxiliary buildings for technical areas and the remodelling of a warehouse located in a space measuring 970 m² on the lower ground floor as a production area. In addition all process installations and industrial services for this area have been carried out by Telstar. Furthermore, Telstar has provided construction supervision including health and safety coordination services.

For the implementation of the project Telstar provided a multidisciplinary team of 10 specialists (pharmaceutical consultant, HVAC specialist engineers, industrial services, clean room architecture, clean utilities, process, electricity and control...) and used the latest tools for BIM design (Revit and Plant 3D) for smart P&ID generation and the development of a virtual model.Applying BIM tools enabled Telstar to devise an integral and conceptual visualization of the project before carrying it out. This has provided the experts with the knowledge to identify any potential risks and given them the information view and resolve technical problems before the construction started. Additionally this has assisted with the introduction of functional, safety and aesthetic improvements in the early stages of the project.

Production area

The process rooms in the production area have a large number of windows and all the lighting in the area is LED, with occupancy sensors in most of the rooms. The enclosures were built with oven painted steel sheet and rock wool sandwich panels which are fire resistant, as well as good thermal and acoustic resistance. The HVAC in the production area was designed to achieve class D with terminal HEPA filters. Trying to obtain energy efficiency, the four air handling units which serve the area have EC fans and L1 air tightness, and the cold and heat contribution has been designed with a variable flow system. Furthermore, the plant has a pressure monitoring system which gathers signals from opening doors and activates sound warnings after a preselected time has elapsed.

For the formulations and the CIP stages of the Media Preparation facilities, Harvest and Downstream, two water loops for injectable substances have been designed, which are supplied by one 10,000 litre accumulation tank, one at 80 ºC with 11 points of use, and a cold one at 25 ºC with 14 points of use. The process facilities include several production reactors for the Media Preparation, Harvest, and Buffer Preparation, with their corresponding transfer lines and sterilizing filtration sets, through a design which was integrally carried out in 3D from smart P&IDs.

Regarding the industrial services, the scope of the project requested the substitution of the existing vapour generators and water heating tanks with new units which would not only service the extended area, but the whole complex, including the installation of an additional chiller and a cooling tower.

The office buildings were designed with a façade that has large windows and an architectural shading mesh made up of white perforated plate with decorative motifs, which provides an aesthetic quality to the most visible part of the building, and at the same time diffuses natural light in the indoor areas. The interior houses a functional building with multipurpose rooms, featuring rooms with glass partitions and large open spaces which are versatile and adaptable. A multi-zone HVAC system with independent temperature control is installed in each area, along with a primary air heat recovery system.

EPCM management model

The EPCM management model is characterized by the contracting of a global package of professional services, the design, management and supervision of the execution, in which the supplier is responsible for the engineering development and advises the client in purchase management and construction. The overall task is focused on management (supervision, budget control and planning) on behalf of the customer company.