GSK pulls out of Ulverston biopharma plans amid major manufacturing shake-up

GSK said it planned to invest more than £140 million at manufacturing sites in Hertfordshire, County Durham and Montrose by 2020. 

According to GSK, the investment is designed to support the expansion of manufacturing for respiratory and HIV medicines, and is in addition to £275 million the company invested in three manufacturing sites last year.

We have had to make some decisions which we know will cause uncertainty for some of our employees

Roger Connor, president of global manufacturing and supply, GSK

However, GSK has abandoned plans to build a biopharmaceutical facility in Ulverston as it “no longer needed the additional capacity”.

The pharma firm said it would also “undertake a strategic review” of its cephalosporins antibiotics business. This includes an option to sell the business and the associated manufacturing facilities in Ulverston, Verona and County Durham. 

Meanwhile, GSK has also decided to outsource some manufacturing activity at its Worthing site in the UK, and has said it would sell its Horlicks brand in the UK. This includes proposing to close the associated manufacturing site in Slough.

Roger Connor, president of GSK global manufacturing and supply, said: “We have a substantial manufacturing presence in the UK and continue to support the network with new investment of more than £140 million in the next three years.

“At the same time, we have had to make some decisions which we know will cause uncertainty for some of our employees. We will do all we can to support them through this process.”

GSK employs approximately 17,000 people across the UK, of which 5,000 are in UK manufacturing operations.

The company said none of the announcements were made because of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.