GSK invests £275m in UK manufacturing
27 Jul 2016
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced plans to invest £275 million into three of its manufacturing sites in the UK.
Commenting on the investment, GSK, which employs roughly 6,000 people across nine manufacturing site within the UK, described the UK an "attractive location for investment in advanced manufacturing".
This is because of the skilled workforce, as well as the technological and scientific capabilities and infrastructure, GSK said.
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
GSK chief executive officer Andrew Witty
Companies also benefit from the UK’s competitive corporate tax system, GSK added.
GSK chief executive officer Andrew Witty said today’s announcement reflects further investment to support the company’s pharmaceutical pipeline and meet growing demand for its 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,” he said.
The investment is split across sites in Hertfordshire, County Durham and Montrose, Scotland.
GSK’s site in Ware, Hertfordshire will benefit from £74m to “support further expansion of the company’s new Ellipta respiratory inhaler through additional manufacturing capacity at the site”.
Meanwhile, Barnard Castle in County Durham, which supplies nearly 500,000 packs of products per day to 140 global markets, will receive £92m to “fund the construction of an aseptic sterile facility supporting the manufacture of existing and new biopharmaceutical assets in our pipeline”, GSK said.
GSK’s site in Montrose, Scotland, which manufactures active ingredients for respiratory, HIV and vaccine products, will receive investment of roughly £110 million to “provide a new, state-of-the-art facility for the manufacture of respiratory active ingredients”.
GSK said the investment would lead to new employment opportunities within the company.
