PharmEng opens new Canada plant

The new plant, operated by PharmaEng's wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary Keata Pharma, was officially opened late last week, and is one of only a few facilities in Canada that can handle manufacture of modified release products. The 46,400 sq ft. facility is located on a five acre site at the Northside Industrial Park in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and along with offices will be home to pilot labs for formulation development, areas to cater for activities such as high shear mixing, container blending, and equipment for modified release technology. The good manufacturing practice (GMP) compliant facility will also be kitted out to provide formulation and development testing services to manufacture and package products insolid and liquid dosage forms. While Keata specialises in the manufacture of solid finished dosage forms, the hope is that the new facility will help progress the company's goal to develop capabilities in other dosage forms, such as suppositories, topicals and injectables. The facility is due to become operational in early 2008 employing 65 workers, though it is expected that this number will increase to over 150 within three years. According to PharmEng, the facility is the only one of its kind in Nova Scotia, and one of only a handful in Canada that offer modified release manufacturing capabilities. The company has invested over $15m in the facility, which has been designed to be able to cater to international as well as domestic markets. A further $6.25m investment came from the Government of Canada in the form of repayable contributions. Less than six months ago, PharmEng also announced the establishment of a Chinese joint venture which would allow the firm to take advantage of the increasingly stringent regulatory requirements over in Asia. Though the region has been criticised as lacking necessary quality controls in its manufacturing processes, Chinese regulators are now stepping up their GMP requirements - a trend which PharmEng believes will have a positive impact on its consulting and manufacturing business in the area.