GSK to invest $ 360 mn in 3 UK sites to augment pharma production

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will invest Pound 275 million (about $ 360 million) in three manufacturing sites in the UK - Barnard Castle (County Durham), Montrose (Angus, Scotland) and Ware (Hertfordshire) - to boost production and support delivery of its latest innovative respiratory and large molecule biological medicines. The vast majority of these products will be for export to global markets.

GSK has a significant manufacturing presence in the UK, with nine sites employing approximately 6,000 people. The company views the UK as an attractive location for investment in advanced manufacturing due to a number of factors including the skilled workforce, technological and scientific capabilities & infrastructure and a competitive corporate tax system. This includes the Patent Box, which encourages investment in R&D and related manufacturing in the UK by delivering a lower rate of corporation tax on profits generated from UK-owned intellectual property. 

“Today’s announcement reflects further investment to support our pharmaceutical pipeline and meet growing demand for our innovative portfolio of newly launched products. It is testament to our skilled UK workforce and the country’s leading position in life sciences that we are making these investments in advanced manufacturing here. From their manufacture in the UK, many of these medicines will be sent to patients around the world,” said Andrew Witty, CEO, GSK, on July 27, 2016 in a press statement.  

GSK will invest Pound 92 million at Barnard Castle site for the construction of an aseptic sterile facility supporting the manufacture of existing and new biopharmaceutical assets in its pipeline. Barnard Castle plant, which is GSK’s biggest secondary manufacturing sites, supplies nearly half a million packs of products per day to 140 global markets. 

GSK will invest another Pound 110 million in Montrose site for building a new facility for manufacturing of respiratory active ingredients. Besides, it will spend Pound 74 million at Ware site to support further expansion of the company’s new Ellipta respiratory inhaler through additional manufacturing capacity.