Switzerland to Canada: GSK transfers Voltaren tech for local supply
According to GlaxoSmithKline, the Can$36m ($27.8m) investment has modernised the consumer health and prescription supply site and allowed for improved manufacturing development capabilities.
“As a result of the investment, the facility is well positioned to build on its established strengths in the production of complex prescription products with an expanded portfolio of higher volume consumer healthcare products, growing the site’s production capacity from 30 million units a year to almost 50 million units by 2020,” a company spokesperson told us.
The firm also announced that commercial production of topical pain reliever Voltaren (diclofenac) would begin at the Mississauga facility for the Canadian market by mid-2019, adding that the investment may attract future product agreements and create jobs.
“The infrastructure changes which the Mississauga site have undergone position it to be a strategic supplier in the GSK global network and a strong candidate for attracting future product mandates.
“This, in turn, will be expected to have a positive impact on future job growth,” the spokesperson told us.
The announcement marks another investment in GSK’s consumer healthcare business after it bought Novartis’ 36.5% stake in a consumer health joint venture – which included over-the-counter pain relief products such as Voltaren – for $13bn in March this year.
