GSK Attachment Inhibitor
A life-saving HIV drug. A facility that had never been built this fast. Bryden Wood delivered it in 15 months – on budget, on schedule, with zero safety incidents.
Fostemsavir is a life-saving drug for people living with HIV who have limited or no other treatment options available. To maintain supply while the drug was in development and clinical trials, GSK – working with partner ViiV Healthcare – needed to build and commission a new manufacturing facility faster than had ever been achieved for a facility of this type. Bryden Wood was appointed to lead the design and delivery of a 10,000 ft² NPI facility in Parma, Italy.
Project details:
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Bryden Wood’s approach was to strip the project back to its most fundamental component parts and build a rigorous end-to-end project plan before construction began. Design, procurement, and construction phases were deliberately overlapped rather than run sequentially – with elements prioritised according to complexity and equipment lead times. The facility was divided into three separate construction zones, each managed independently, with the goal of achieving building waterproofing within four months. The result: 15 months from groundbreaking to handover, on budget, with zero reportable safety incidents.
The approach began with an unusual decision: to focus not on the building, but on the process. The desired outcome of this project was not a physical structure – it was the successful production of Fostemsavir. Bryden Wood developed a conceptual model of the manufacturing process and held workshops with GSK, ViiV Healthcare, local design partners, contractors, engineers, and suppliers to align the entire team around a shared understanding of the critical path before a single design decision was made.
BIM and 3D visualisation were used from the earliest stages. Modular design principles were applied to both equipment and layout to maximise adaptability.
Every aspect of the construction sequence was questioned – with dynamic, focused teams meeting daily and weekly on site, and four-week look-ahead sessions maintaining programme momentum throughout.
The project was recognised by the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) as a 2020 Facility of the Year Category Winner for Social Impact and Bryden Wood’s GSK internal ‘Project of the Year’ award – recognition that reflected both the speed of delivery and the rigour of the process that made it possible.
The desired outcome of this project was not a building. It was the successful production of Fostemsavir. Bryden Wood delivered it in 15 months – faster than had ever been done before.
