Who else loves that back-to-school, autumnal feel of September? Holidays are over and the fun out-going vibe of summer shifts to something cosier and more introverted. I love reflecting on Summer and planning my goals for Autumn and the year ahead, following the academic calendar that seems so ingrained.

Fun things of note are: I made my own elderflower champagne, successfully for a surprising change! I’ve had a few failed attempts due to microbial contamination issues before getting to the packaging stage of the process, but like any good ex-pharma QA employee I completed a CAPA, tweaked the sterilisation process, did an equipment validation review (all under change control in my QMS…naturally) and tried again. My approved API had an extraordinarily long lead time, due to the elder trees of choice Sambucus Nigra, (available locally, aka the garden) flowering only for a short window at the beginning of summer. I categorise this supplier as… sensitive. When it failed, and it did over several attempts, I had to wait until the following summer to execute my changes and try again. We will have to await next summer to see if there is any repeatability in this experimental process but QC testing of the delicate pink fizz was enjoyable. My patience paid off with success for this personal long-term goal. Alas none reached anticipated shelf life to perform any stability studies, something to consider for next year perhaps. Autumn has got me eyeing up the apple tree and wondering what other delicious ‘pharmaceutical processes’ I can perform in my kitchen.

Other causes for celebration this summer are CY Partners passed their 14^th year of existence milestone. Our London office, headed up by the wonderful Neil Walton, has gone from strength to strength. Our Newcastle and London teams got together for some training and dining over the summer and had an exciting couple of days in Newcastle connecting and celebrating new employees joining us.

Autumn will bring more of the same. We are working with universities across the country for their careers support to graduating scientists as well as what we do best: working with scientists to find their desired place in industry. Working with the scientific industry to attract the talented scientists they need to achieve their goals.

Every day goals.

If you’re interested in talking to our team about how we could help you grow your career or team, in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, biotech or clinical, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us here.