Astra shares best practices for manufacturing

Global pharmaceutical giant Astra Pharmaceuticals is sharing best practices with its manufacturing employees to ensure regulatory compliance and gain competitive advantage.

The pharmaceutical giant is using Lotus' LearningSpace distance learning system to deliver Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) courses to employees in its worldwide manufacturing operations.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing processes are heavily regulated and monitored by the federal government, according to Frank Taylor, Astra's Manager of GMP Training. "Training our employees on Good Manufacturing Practices is a regulatory expectation."

Astra employees can interact with classmates and instructors in virtual classes, and collaborate on assignments or work on course materials alone at their own pace. The GMP curriculum was developed by NetPerformance, the training and education arm of Lotus Business Partner U.S. Technologies.

Taylor said the new continuous learning system "will significantly improve our organization's ability to meet that expectation," and is "a true competitive advantage to Astra in today's global market."

Over time, Astra intends to deploy NetPerformance's LearningSpace solution to its employees worldwide