New $50m plant unveiled by Kyowa Hakko Kirin
pharmafile | July 12, 2011 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â Kyowa Hakko Kirin, pharma manufacturing newsÂ
Japan’s Kyowa Hakko Kirin is to build a new manufacturing unit for oral formulations at its main production facility in Ube.
The 4 billion-yen ($50m) project is part of a wider reorganisation of Kyowa Hakko’s manufacturing network, which will also see some work currently carried out at its Fuji facility in Shizuoka transferred to Ube.
“The new factory will have automated equipment that uses the latest in manufacturing engineering technology” and ” implement more advanced good manufacturing practices”, said Kyowa Hakko Kirin in a statement.
The overall aim is to improve production efficiency and increase cost-competitiveness of products made there, it added.
Construction of the 63,000 sq.m. facility is due to start in September 2011 and complete at the end of 2012, with the plant due to come online in December 2014. When complete the plant will employ around 80 staff, said the company.
Ube is one of five finished dosage form manufacturing sites operated by Kyowa Hakko Kirin – all of which are in Japan – although the company has recently been accelerating plans to build more of a business in the US and Europe.
The Japanese firm bought UK biotech ProStrakan in a $475 million-deal earlier this year, capturing US and European rights to a portfolio of specialist pharmaceutical products two of which had been sold by Kyowa Hakko Kirin under license in Asia – as well as sales operations in the US and Europe.
The UK firm relies on contract manufacturing organisations for its products, and it is not yet clear whether production of any of these will be transferred to its Japanese parent.
ProStrakan’s business has been hit by manufacturing problems, including shortages of its Sancuso (granisetron) patch caused by quality issues at a plant operated by CMO partner Aveva Drug Delivery.
Phil Taylor
Related Content
Kyowa Hakko Kirin signs drug discovery deal with AI firm InveniAI
Japanese pharma and biotech firm Kyowa Hakko Kirin is joining the growing trend of investing …
BMS to trial Opdivo in solid tumours
Bristol-Myers Squibb will begin early-phase trials of its immuno-oncology treatment Opdivo with other cancer treatments, …
Pharma manufacturing news in brief
Patheon wins a new contract from Boehringer Ingelheim, Ferring buys a UK plant, plus updates …
