Pharmaceutical manufacturer Aesica has opened a new high capacity manufacturing facility following a £30 million investment at its Queenborough, Kent site.
The 10,000 sq m expansion is purpose-built for the production of a solid dose medication used in treating Type 2 diabetes, one of the world’s most common lifestyle diseases. Commercial production at the facility will start in November.
Private equity investor Silverfleet Capital bought a stake in the pharma company in September 2011.
This development will approximately double the site’s solid dose manufacturing capacity and includes investment in a range of specialist equipment. The facility will have a dedicated workforce of 55 technicians with the building’s design allowing current capacity to be more than doubled in the future, which would require a further additional 50 staff to be recruited.
The expansion allows Aesica to claim a place as one of the top 10 CDMOs in the world.
The investment is a part of the company’s strategic plan to triple annual revenues to more than £500 million by the end of 2016 through both organic and acquisitive growth.
Dr Robert Hardy, CEO of Aesica Pharmaceuticals, said: “The expansion and opening of the High Capacity Manufacturing Facility marks another key milestone for our company and a further step towards achieving our vision to be the world’s number one supplier of APIs and formulated products to the pharmaceutical industry.
“In 2011 we acquired three manufacturing sites in Europe, effectively doubling the size of our workforce and capabilities and since then we have continued to expand our business development team globally.”
Adrian Yurkwich of Silverfleet Capital and a non-executive director of Aesica, added “This investment… demonstrates Aesica’s commitment to its key strategic partners and its intention to achieve significant growth internationally.
“The company is establishing its position itself as one of the top ten CDMOs in the world and this is testament to its excellent management team.”
Earlier this year Silverfleet Capital acquired A/S Cimbria, a leading Danish manufacturer of equipment and processing lines for handling and processing of seed and grain in a Eu137 million deal.
