Janssen Pharmaceutica to build new plant in Belgium
Johnson & Johnson is to invest Euro 130m in a new pilot plant on the chemical production site of its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutica in Geel in Belgium.
Johnson & Johnson is to invest Euro 130m in a new pilot plant on the chemical production site of its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutica in Geel in Belgium.
The Chemical Development Pilot Plant will support the development of new medicines and is scheduled to start operations in 2011.
The plant will manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), with a focus on products in Phase III of clinical research. It is expected to create about 50 new jobs.
The expertise of the Chemical Development group in Beerse, combined with the extensive range of state-of-the-art technologies in Geel, were said to be the decisive factors in choosing to build the plant in Belgium. Furthermore, measures initiated by the Belgian government such as the reduced company withholding tax for researchers and fictitious interest have substantially improved the investment climate.
The investment comes after previous hefty investments made by Johnson & Johnson in r&d on the Beerse site, in particular US$60m for the Dr Paul Janssen Research Center in October 2004 and $40m for the Drug Safety Evaluation Center in March 2005.
Ajit Shetty, managing director of Janssen Pharmaceutica, described the investment as a solid indication of the confidence that Johnson & Johnson has in Belgium. 'In the past few years, we have systematically invested in new research buildings and new production facilities on the Belgian sites. But this is by far the biggest investment project that we have ever had. It confirms again the importance of the role of our company and of our country in the pharmaceutical sector.'