Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai has opened a new facility at its European Knowledge Centre (EKC) in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK to handle the packaging of Eisai’s investigational anticancer agent lenvatinib, for the treatment of thyroid cancer.
Housing a packaging line with cutting-edge technology, the new facility is specifically designed to cope with highly potent compounds. Located next to the current 7,800m2 facility in Hatfield, it covers a total floor space of approximately 2,900m2, representing an increase in size of approximately 40%.
The Hatfield plant serves as a global supply centre for new products such as antiepileptic agent Fycompa while also functioning as a production and packaging base for countries in Europe, where there is a demand for a high mix of low-volume products in multiple languages.
'Pharmaceuticals manufacturing is important to our economy,' said UK Minister for Life Sciences, George Freeman.
'Eisai’s investment in this new facility will help grow pharmaceutical export and is another vote of confidence for the UK’s world-class life sciences sector.'
Eisai’s CEO Haruo Naito said: 'Since the establishment of the Eisai London Research Laboratories in 1990, for nearly 25 years we have continued to invest in the UK as our base in Europe.
'I am proud to announce that the opening of this new high tech facility will enable the supply of innovative new medicines, such as anticancer agents lenvatinib and Halaven as well as antiepileptic agent Fycompa, from our plant here in Hatfield to contribute to patients all over the world.' Eisai's established the EKC, which integrates the company’s discovery research, clinical development, production, marketing, and European headquarters functions into one site, in in 2009 with the aim of expanding its business operations in Europe.
The EKC is the regional headquarters for Eisai’s EMEA business, which covers Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania.