Helsinn to upgrade Swiss manufacturing services and sell Irish chemicals plant
Pharmaceutical group Helsinn plans to expand development and manufacturing services at its advanced synthesis site in Biasca, Switzerland after initial investment of about Euro 5m in recent years. Further investment and a reorganisation of the manufacturing sites in Ireland and Switzerland are part of this strategy.
Pharmaceutical group Helsinn plans to expand development and manufacturing services at its advanced synthesis site in Biasca, Switzerland after initial investment of about Euro 5m in recent years. Further investment and a reorganisation of the manufacturing sites in Ireland and Switzerland are part of this strategy.
The plan also includes the sale of the Helsinn Chemicals Ireland plant in Mulhuddart, Dublin to Italian company Medinco CFM Group, a Milan-based chemical pharmaceutical company that specialises in the supply of generic active pharmaceutical ingredients to customers worldwide.
Helsinn's Irish operation was established in 1990, when it acquired Birex Pharmaceuticals in Dublin. The company has since invested more than â"šÂ¬55m in Ireland, where it employs 210 people at its four separate businesses - Helsinn Birex Pharmaceuticals, Helsinn Chemicals Ireland and a sales and marketing company, Helsinn Birex Therapeutics with its Ergha Healthcare division.
In March this year Helsinn invested more than â"šÂ¬13m, with the support of the Irish Government through IDA (Irish Development Authority), to build an r&d centre for oral solid dosage (OSD), creating 10 research positions at the Helsinn Birex Pharmaceuticals business.
Riccardo Braglia, ceo of the Helsinn Group, said: "The new organisation of our r&d and production facilities in both Switzerland and Ireland represents one of our corporate strategic goals and is of significant benefit for the further growth of our international business."