Actavis to invest in Florida facility
pharmafile | March 25, 2013 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | Actavis, Watson
Actavis has announced a $40.5 million investment round at its plant in Davie, Florida, that looks set to create around 220 new jobs.
The announcement comes in the wake of Watson Pharmaceuticals’ €4.25 billion acquisition of Actavis (and its subsequent renaming) last year to create the world’s third-largest generic drug manufacturer.
The money will be spent on the construction of a 30,000 sq. ft. addition to the Davie site – including around 17,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space and 13,000 sq. ft. of warehousing – with the build scheduled to get underway in the third quarter.
It is due for completion around a year later, according to a statement released by the office for Florida governor Rick Scott which notes that Actavis stands to receive $2.9 million in “grants, tax refunds and employee training incentives … to support its expansion”.
This is the second major announcement from Actavis in the wake of the acquisition, the other being the combining of two manufacturing plants at its site in Corona, California, into one ‘rationalised’ unit that will concentrate only on the production of oral contraceptives.
The company said at the time the merger completed that it did not expect to make any major changes to its manufacturing footprint as most of the production capacity at Watson and Actavis was complementary.
Most of its efforts in manufacturing now are focusing on improving process capability and understanding, for example by shifting towards greater adoption of quality-by-design (QbD), said chief executive Paul Bisarro in Actavis’ fourth-quarter 2012 results briefing.
The Davie facility produces around 2.2 billion dosage units a year, including immediate- and extended-release oral solid dosage forms and high-potency products.
“Actavis is proud to support Florida and [the] town of Davie economy with skilled, pharmaceutical industry jobs,” said Bisarro.
“We are committed to [the] expansion of employment opportunities in the region,” he added.
Phil Taylor
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